We came here as property...really, property. Sorta like a mules, cattle, or any other working animals that you can think of. We got the shit beat out of us. We had no dignity...we were ignorant, not allowed to learn. Hell, you could get KILLED for reading! You could get KILLED for wanting to be FREE! We were getting RAPED by slave masters. We kept our heads up, though. We didn't get any types of apologies, thank yous, or any type of credits for building this country. We got sprayed with fire fighter water hoses...attacked by German Shepperd dogs...beat by police night sticks...all because we wanted to be treated like human beings....Our neighbor hoods were infested with drugs and aids and other diseases by this government of ours...they tried to KILL us. They killed Malcolm, They Killed Fred Hampton, They Killed MLK...but all they did was kill physical bodies...they didn't, nor can they KILL our spirit. We are fighters...and we do what fighters do...we fight. To the end, with our heads held high. We fall, but we never fail. Who do you know that has been through as much as we have? The underdog who is admired by it's oppressor...they want to be just like us. The pure definition of resiliency...the personification of determination.
We came here on boats with our people dying...
We lived in fear of our owners whip, guns, knives, and harsh demoralizing tongues.
We marched, and we fought in the midst of police brutality, while they were asking us the silly question, "why are you mad"
We fought, and still are fighting the drugs that they put on us, the division that they caused amongst us...
But, when we look through all of these heartbreaks, that didn't break us, and we see the light that God has always allowed to shine on us when they said we weren't even a full man... we got stronger. When they said no, we said yes. When they said stop, we said go. We didn't fall and stay down, we defined ourselves when we got up...
And when they looked at us again, they saw us smiling with dignity...able to read, and proud to be the beautiful, resilient, and determined black people we are today...Then they looked harder, and saw that slave who came over here tied down and heartbroken was now the father of the president over the United States of America. The peasant is now King.
