My history

Your history

Celebration of colorOvercoming adversity

We all taste it so

Let′s face it

Together

African and Caucasian

Asian and Indian too

Native American or not

We've all been black and blue

Physically emotionally

Mentally and spiritually

We all know what pain feels like

We all know how chains sealed tight feel like

History reveals many battles many fights

Go back far enough &

We all know what inferiority feels like

That′s why typewriters type

And writers write wrongs

The hand that life can deal us

That hand of fate can steal us

Right out of our mother's hands

Right out of our motherland &

Harvest us in fields of cotton rice vice and sugarcane

So it often seems

Our lives don't amount to a

Can of beans

Bought and sold over a counter top

Stop!

Let me fix these seams

& While I′m over here

Let me fix you a plate of these collard greens

Black eye peas macaroni cheese

Okra & cornbread too

So you can chew on this

Overcoming is encoded in our DNA

Overcoming walks freely in our genes

Like kings & queens

Remember that sermon on the mount

Dr. Martin Luther King

Lift every voice & sing

I have a dream

Sojourner Truth

Followed route 2

Freedom then planted new

Seeds new trees new

Roots run deep

Tribes live free

Daughter of Africa

Feminist abolitionist

George Washington Carver

Scientist botanist inventor

Rosa Parks spent her life

In return for so little change so

Sat there on that bus.

She must have been scared

On that bus. Lightning and disbelief

Flashing all around her... on that bus.

Like thunder war and rage

Gears shift and bus parks

Sparks and fireworks on that bus.

Change looming

Voices booming

On that bus.

Trying desperately to drowned

Her but she and many

Sisters sat

Quietly...

On that bus.

Mouthing words

Solemnly...

Caged birds singing softly

On that bus.

We shall not be moved

We all know their names

We all believe in their aims

We all know their deeds

We all received their proceeds

Frederick Douglas, W. E. B. DuBois

Marian Anderson who sang opera arias in

Concert recitals seated right next to negro spirituals...

Wade in the water

Gods gonna trouble the water

Swing low sweet chariot

Coming forth to carry me home

Steal away

Steal away to freedom

She sung

She won the hearts of Americans everywhere

Every town square

Where we sat huddled together in the cold

Discovering new ways to

Be bold & overcome fear

Soon I will be done with the troubles of your world...

That′s how we called forth the rebels

Radicals and revolutionaries

They rose from the earth &

Marched in the streets

Protesting

Chanting slogans to

Repeal injustice and prejudice

Speaking out

Speaking up

For the people

By the people

Malcom X

Huey P. Newton

Angela Davis

Asata Shakur

Freedom fighters

Fire lighters

The original

Black lives matter

Black strength gathers

Black Muslims

Black Panthers

Fists raised in the air

Afros & dashikis & bowties

Everywhere

Underground Railroad now added

New names and faces

Marsha P. Johnson

Drag queen, trans women giving

Homeless kids a home

Starting Stonewall Riots

Combating bias

Resisting silence

Cause there is no way to justify this

Homophobia transphobia

Sexist behavior

We all need a savior... sometimes

Speaking of saving

What would we do without

Artists paving the way

Authoring new books for a new day

Some merry some gay

But all coming together to play

So we could dance

Together in

Streets & in

Clubs & on

Stages &

Laugh as

Life flipped the pages...

Jazz Blues Hip hop R&B & Rock & Roll too

Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Bessie Smith, Sylvester,

Miles Davis, Tupac, MJJ, Billie Holiday & the Four Tops to

Name a few...

Alvin Ailey, Audre Lorde, Octavia E Butler & Basquiet

In sporting news

Flo-Jo

The fastest woman of all time

Venus carries on the legacy of Althea Gibson

Jackie Robinson hits more home runs

Muhammad Ali

Pretty bumblebee

Brings another opponent to his knees

Let us not forget the

Magazines

Ebony & Jet & Black Enterprise

Covers every photo every word between

Advertisements for Afro sheen, Jheri curls &

Pretty girls wearing Iman cosmetics

Even though we all know under all that

Hair grease, rouge and lipstick

Black is beautiful!

You know I had to say it...

Who said hero worship was bad for us?

We the people

We need our gods

We need these relationships

Crave these fellowships

Value our kinships are

Thankful for our mentorships

So around this time

Every year

We renew our subscriptions &

Annual memberships...

NAACP

United Negro College fund

National Black Justice Coalition

My Brothers Keeper

Sister Love

Black Youth Project

Black Alliance for Justice Immigration

Million Hoodies

The Innocence Project

Color of Change

And so many many many many more...

But in all this praising...

Rejoicing & being exceedingly glad

Let us not forget the folks

Closest to our hearts...

When we celebrate the celebrated

Let us also elevate the often negated

Those precious Souls relegated to the role of &

Somehow always rising above &

So very deserving of

The title

The distinction

The recognition

The appellation

Mother

Father

Son

Daughter

Cousin

Aunt

Uncle

Nephew

Niece

Grandmother

Grandfather

Sister

Brother

Friend

Remember the

Neighbor down the street, whether

She sleeps in a house or

On a cardboard sheet

Remember

The lawyer & the dentist &

The plumber & the gardener &

The bus driver who greets you

Every evening on your way home from work

Remember all these & more &

Handle with care

All who recite this prayer

We shall overcome &

Do overcome

Whatever they can overcome

To all of you

Yesterday

Today &

Tomorrow... Forever

Be true

We salute you

Yes I know we ain't

Overcame all that needs to be

Overcome

There is still much more

Overcoming yet still to do... & the

Doing we must do... but the

Good Book say

I believe this to be true... this

Race ain′t given to the swift

We all need to work this shift cause

Each moment can be turned into

A gift

Can't nobody honestly say

We ain′t come a long way

That's what we pausing here today

To do

Celebrate

With Gratitude

Our gifts

Cause when a

Brother can rise to become president

That sets a new precedent

Shirley Chisholm ran too

Back in 1972

President Barack Obama did right by her

Called her name &

Awarded her her due

Acts like these help

Everyone stand a little taller

Brethren colored in golden chocolate hues &

Everyone else too

So don′t get distracted...

A few guns, hoses and frightened

Narrow minded congressional opposes

Can't stop this march forward

This flashlight exposes all who raid the

Innocence of peace and hope &

Progress forward

So tonight as you lay upon your bed of roses

Blood trickling as your crown of thorns imposes

On insides raw & bare & bruised

Remember what this prose is

Remember their names

Remember what they became

Remember that deep down

We are all the same...

But most importantly...

Remember how we overcame

Adversity

Cause if we overcame before

We can overcome again &

Again &

Again

Let the church say

Amen