A LETTER TO MY ANCESTORS 1
DEAR ANCESTORS:
I am so sorry for what you went through. My heart breaks and aches every time I try to imagine your life. The physical strength and the mental fortitude it took to survive was of divine proportion. It took your all, so you gave it your all.
The heavy chains, the shackles, and the forty strokes on your back, never conquered your faith. You toiled under a blazing August sky and never lost the audacity of hope. You shivered under a freezing October moon and never lost the warmth of your love. Your bed was always the hard ground, but you never failed to rise up determined to make it through one more day. I want to thank you for your examples of strength, love, endurance, and wisdom. I am here because God gave you strength and you made it through.
So, I say, for every tear you shed, I stand erect and strong. So, I say, for every bead of your sweat that hit the ground while you worked, I plant a tree. So, I say, for every stroke of a whip on your back, I buy an acre of the land you made so rich. So, I say, for every time you were cheated out of the profit and knowledge that was rightfully yours, I register a patent. So, I say, for every time you were raped, your innocence and virtue brutally assaulted, and you couldn’t tell a soul; I remember to tell the whole story ‘bout a strong black girl chile, made into a women far too soon. I’ll shout it from the rooftop. So, I say, for every time your foots even swole or your back ached, I run on in spite of my own weariness, to see what the end gon’ be. So, I say for every day you had to work with broken bones and labor pains, I’ll work twice as hard and twice as long and only accept twice as much. So, I say, most of all, for every dream you dreamed, I will teach a child the INDEPENDENCE and RESPONSIBILITY of freedom.
So, finally I say, now we are rich beyond your wildest dream. We made it ma! Yes, even one of your own children made it to become The President of the United States of this here America. You should have seen him ma. A skinny little thing but you couldn’t miss him cause those ears stuck out from his head and said: I hear you, my ancestors. I hear you, my people. Now we have our OWN billionaires the likes of television network owners and goats (the greatest of all times) the likes of LBJ; no not Lyndon Banes Johnson. We have gymnasts the likes of SB, musicians the likes of DE, and MJ. Not to mention scientists, inventors and doctors the likes of BB, DHW, JW, and of course OB. The list goes on and on. We are so proud of them. I hope you’re proud of us too. For all that you did for us...
Thank you 4 ever!
Signed,
K.C. MARSHALL