Make History

My History,
Your History,
Our History.
Written on the temporal folds
Of the minds
Of our foreparents.
A history rich in the tales
Of love and war,
Of strength and family,
Of Africa.

My history
Was lost ar sea,
More like at ocean,
As a people,
My people,
Your people
Travelled across the great waters
To this place.

On this journey,
They lost their homes,
Their hopes,
Their dreams,
Their humanity,
Their name.
Beast of burden
They became.

A new history
Was written,
Painted on canvas,
Spoken in word.
My history.
Your history.
Our history.

A history of shame,
A history of strife,
A history of struggle
And of pain.
Lord knows a lot of pain.

The pain of a whip,
Against bare skin.
The pain of a family torn apart.
The pain on knowing
That it won't get better.

But it did get better.
History was made.
The chains of their bodies
Fell away.
A free people,
And yet not free.

Our minds
Remain slaves.
Slaves of the past,
Slaves of our history.

So tonight, I ask you
To make history.
Make history
By respecting each other,
Loving each other.
Kings treat us as queens,
As we shall treat you as kings.

Make history,
Parents be there
For your children.
Make them
The people who will
Change the world for the better,
Not the worse.

Make history,
By thinking outside the box.
The box created centuries ago
By people who wanted to strip us bare
And likened us to beast.

Make history
By wearing your skin
With pride.
Be it the colour of the night sky
Or the colour of a ripe butternut.
It is our blessing,
Never our sin.

Make history,
Black history.
And remember history
Is written by the victorious,
So be victorious.