A 'No' uttered from the deepest conviction is better and greater than a 'Yes' merely uttered to please, or what is worse, to avoid trouble.
—Mahatma Gandhi
Stand Undiminished
Taken from my motherland in chains
to travel waters unknown by me,
to toil in soil unfamiliar to my hands.
Forced to speak a language
which does not sing
Exploited, enslaved, whipped and hanged.
Defined in a constitution
as three fifths of a man.
I stood beside you in battle
against common foes.
I stood before you, in defiance
of your authority, fighting for my freedom,
granted by an amendment, still denied
by the common belief in my inferiority.
Is it my darkness which intimidates you?
Are you threatened by my warrior’s strength?
Do you not see the benevolent king I am?
For here, now, I stand before you, again,
not as your enemy, not yet your brother,
no longer the slave of your bidding.
Before you now stands a darker reflection of yourself.
Before you now I stand strong in body,
full of soul, completing the circle of my destiny.
Before you now,
Before you now, I Stand
Before you now, I Stand Undiminished!
Photo Credit: Slavery in America. February 20, 2006. Central Pennsylvania African American History. http://www.afrolumens.org/slavery/.