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Beating our drums—singing, dancing
and giving praises to the Most High
for family harvest, peace and love,
we blinked—became victims
of colonial rape—stolen from the womb
of our Motherland; snatched like babes
from their mother’s uterus; umbilical cords
severed and thrown away—not buried…
Stacked sardine style
in the fecal bowels of ships—
with desecrated faith flags flying
and given blessings to return safely—some
of us survived the devil’s Middle Passage
hell—stolen walking dead cargo
reaching the bidding block; to be sold
into the dreaded dark death of slavery.
Blood soaked cotton fields claimed
countless lives, wrought to death
to sustain a weary worn nation;
others dangled like strange fruits
from the branches of lynching trees;
and there were those who were fried
like beacon during clan kinky follies;
Yet, we are still here—pushing onward;
and we shall not be moved.
(Nobody Knows The Troubles I’ve Seen…)
Yes, chattel slavery, Jim Crow, segregation,
racial discrimination and grazing game
to be stalked and shot down—
ethnic genocide—have all been
designed and practiced to wipe us out…
Yet, we are still here—pushing onward;
and we shall not be moved.
(Ain’t Gon’a Let No body Lawdy, Turn Me ‘Round…)
So rise up my children;
know who and whose you are…
aware and knowledgeable
of the lies, mind tricks, and deceptions
your ancestors have survived—know
that you are the descendants
of great nation builders;
nation builders who have built a nation
within a nation; the building bricks:
the blood, sweat and tears of their lives.
My children, my children—truth’s blessings;
know that you are heirs of something precious:
a great heritage; a mighty ancestry—roots.
Know that you are not remnants of a dried creek;
rather, you are the flowing waters of a mighty river
meandering through a great valley of ebony hued,
healing humanity; rising—forgiving but not forgetting.
(Amazing Grace…)
Yes—with amazing grace—our river is flowing,
taking us to higher ground; we are still here;
and we shall not be moved—rooted in faith, planted
like a tree by the waters—we are here and free;
and always will be—we shall not be removed
from the peace, love and unity of our blessed humanity.
(Like A Tree Planted By The Waters)
