The Dream Reclaimed

This is a poem I wrote last year in honour of Black History Month and thought I'll share it as once again we're celebrating Black History.

The Dream Reclaimed

Black people, when will you stop hating yourself?

When will that hatred be turned where it rightfully belongs?  To injustice. To unrealized dreams.

Remember when you had a common goal?

You were fighting for your place in society.

To be educated like the others.

To eat where you wanted.  To get a drink of water where you thirsted.  You had a dream.

You looked to strong leaders who inspired you with their dreams.

You gathered together to fight for each other, to encourage each other knowing the consequences could be death.

You faced down racists in high places, the sharp teeth of dogs trained to intimidate you.

You defied family and friends who, too timid or scared to look to a brighter future, begged and pleaded with you to accept it as it was.

Black people, what became of you?

When did the dream wither and die within you?

When did it become acceptable for you to turn your anger on those who look just like you?

When did it become acceptable for those who overcame to say, “I’ve got mine, too bad for you”?

When did the dream become a nightmare?

Have you turned your back on education?  This was part of the dream to help lift you to the Promised Land.

Don’t for a minute think the Promised Land is where you go when you die after suffering here on earth.

The Promised Land is the safe neighbourhood where you raise and nourish your children without fear of a drive-by death.

The Promised Land is where your children respect their educators and absorb knowledge to prepare them for a future of endless possibilities.

The Promised Land is where you worship to grow spiritually, be a comfort and encouragement to each other not where you overflow the coffers of those who are supposedly leading you.

Black people, open your eyes and see what you have become.

You are more than entertainers.              

You have a wonderful history, learn it and share it.

Do not let others define who you are.  You are more than grist for the prison mill, more than vendors of street pharmaceuticals, more that abandoners of families, more than fillers of bank accounts for undertakers.

Black people, you are givers of life.  Look around you. 

Look at each other with new vision.  Turn your anger and hatred away from each other and focus it where it belongs. Identify the enemy and fight for your freedom.  Fight the oppression.  You have fought this battle before.  Now is the time to win the war.

It won’t be easy.  It never has been easy.

Black people, apathy is your enemy.  Pull empathy to your side.  Embrace education with a powerful grip; this will propel you to the Promised Land and can never be taken away from you.  Cast off dependencies of all kinds.  Become leaders.  Support those who are not as strong.  Work together in small groups to resolve issues and implement plans.  From small groups grow large organizations.  Keep your leaders honest.  Question them; question what you are told; no one person has all the answers.  Welcome all ideas and suggestions and use the best of them.  Look at all sides of an issue to arrive at how best to solve a problem.  There will be failure; learn from it to do better next time.  Celebrate your successes, loudly and with passion.

Black people love and cherish each other.  You are not the enemy.  You are the reflection of the hopes and dreams of each other.  Be proud.  The dream is not lost; it is just waiting to be realized.