Our ancestors
Stolen from the homeland
From the coasts of West Africa
From Nigeria, From Ghana, From Senegal, From Gambia, From Congo
Captured, chained, tortured and taken against their will
Forcibly stripped of their dignity and culture
In their hearts,
they knew they would never be conquered
Freedom would come
Standing on the shores unknown and alone
Their hearts and mother tongue severed with whips
as they were sent on ships
Learning the languages that surrounded them
English, French Spanish, Portuguese
They drew on power within them and persevered
They could have given up
But they didn’t
cause they knew
Freedom would come
Their shackles rubbed them down to the bone
Arriving in the Americas to be sold, worked, and used
Worked as if they were cattle
Brutalized like animals with no disposition or rights
They held on to faith, song, and family
With their heads held high
In silent protest
Through will and resolve
They knew freedom would come
They were forced to agree, just do and obey
But NO, their souls would not surrender
Their souls grew, heated up, and boiled over, causing them to revolt
Though at times they were not successful
Their revolution showed that they would not be controlled
They will not give up without a wrestle
Freedom would come
Freedom without restraint,
Freedom Without control,
Freedom without the power and dictation of another.
August 1st, 1834,
Marks the day that they were freed
The day their hopes and dreams were guaranteed
In the face of systematic and legal degradation
We reaffirmed our humanity
Many fled from the grasps of slavery to be free,
Our ancestors
Jamaican Maroons, Black Loyalists, and Black refugees
With dreams, hopes for freedom, and new beginnings
Met with racism, segregation, discrimination, and oppression
Today we still wrestle with a lack of economic opportunities
Inequities in healthcare, education, and housing
And a justice system without racial equity
We still wait, hope, and pray for true freedom
Freedom to reclaim spaces
To be accepted by society and not feel like outsiders
Like our ancestors, we persevered and survive
Through faith, family, and music
We cannot find our freedom alone
Emancipation is more than just a day
It is a process
We all need to come together,
To understand, listen, and learn
To join this climb on the hill of emancipation
For black liberation
To be set free with the absence of fear
To experience liberty
Free from racial stereotypes
For us to become one nation
For all people to be respected and valued
to be freed from all chains
To be equals
Without judgment or assumptions
In our hearts, our freedom lives
and it cannot be taken
Freedom will come
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