Mahogany Writings

BLACKNESS

I feel my blackness through my veins...from the tightness of those slavery chains...from the southern trees that grew strange fruit that ripped at our souls that came straight from the root...I feel my blackness through the joy of freedom from Lincoln...but he didn't free us for the right reasons...he wanted us to rebuild a country that didn't love us so he gave us hope and released our chains...replaced then with laws...that made us feel drained...We couldn't choose our destinys...discover our identitys but we still had to love this country...Marcus Garvey came on the scene...with his speeches and poems...of 'back to Africa' journeys..."find out the truth and you will be free"...but to many of us, hostages or not, this was all we knew and this is our truth...Now it's the 20s and Harlem is alive...with poetry and art that stimulates our minds...with dancing and singing...we're having a good time...we're holding our heads up and lifting our voices...loving each other and making our own choices...Times are hard but we will survive...This rebirth of black love kept us alive...I feel my blackness...through the beginning of Jim Crow...We're losing control of what we have...and it made us feel low... I feel my blackness...through the increasing...of lynchings and beatings...and misleadings...They're taking away our air before we can breathe it...blinding our eyes before we really can see it...closing our mouths and tearing our hearts where we couldn't say anything...or feel anything...It's now WWII...we're fighting on the front lines...we're making ourselves strong...imprinting our faces onto their minds...we should be welcomed with open arms...be respected with smiles and many praises...Times have changed and should be for the better...but even after all that, it's still stormy weather...Now we're thinking..."maybe they'll understand...we're all men and we've earned this right...we should be able to open our eyes when it's day and sleep well at night"...It's now the civil rights movement...Rosa Parks sat down...Dr. King stood up...Malcolm is making us feel our blackness...Black is black...a strength, not a weakness...Then we got the real right to vote and it rocked our boat...We've made it better for our kids and their kids...Right?...We closed our eyes and exhaled and said we finally did it...Then we lost Malcolm...Had we made it better?...Next it was Martin...Was it really better?...We now have black pride...we've shot down all the lies...it's just me and you...We're black people...now we're beautiful...Malcolm and Martin have led the way...The Black Panthers are making us see better days...We're strong...we're tall..."I'm black and I'm proud"...was heard through the racial walls...I feel my blackness with every touch I lay...With every look from my eyes...With my talk and stride...Blackness is no longer a color but an attitude...It's who I am and now I hope...you feel my blackness.

 

Poetry