Sunday, February 11, 1990, was a day written in history that shine a new light on the meaning of freedom. On this day, one man came out of a place created to silence him and into a world that saw what true freedom is.
The burden of bitterness that could easily set in as many were murdered, beaten, suppressed, and incarcerated simply because of the pigmentation of their skin, was overturned when Nelson Mandela walked the new path to freedom. Freedom from the mindset of oppression to that of seeing oneself bigger than the miniature mind to control.
His example continues to represent and ignite a people that have endured years of abuse to see ourselves past our persecutors or even being persecuted to being a people of purpose, strength, and resilience.
BlackHistory and the Black experience is oftentimes hidden out of the pages of history. After all, it has not been a pretty scene. We however have been paving a path that is far greater than we can imagine. It is a history embedded with fortitude, and forging an imprint of forgiveness. Let us not fail to recognize and remember the complete stories. Let us not be afraid to tell them and pass them on. The truth is not to be feared but to be embraced so that we do not continue to repeat the actions that divide us as a human race.
Black History Month is one to uncover those aspects of history that many have attempted to erase and bring forth the #legacy of the men and women that made sacrifices so that we today live.
I long for the day
When we can truly say
History is history
and comes with no mystery.
Where black is seen
only as a dream
for we are a people
not defined by the pigmentation of our skin.
I long for the day
when we no longer separate
and block the lies
to segregate and despise
for from the pass
we will realize
that the human experience
is seeing through another’s eyes.
O. Stephen Peart. 2022 ©️ All rights reserved.
On this day I honour the many that have paved the way for us to live and give the next generation memories to be better human beings, not bitter in cruelty.
On the backs of slaves
marked the stories untold
the men and women
raising a nation as it unfold
taken from a land they no longer will know
to a place where their spirits could not be sold.
On the backs of a people
burdened with fear
wrestling to find their purpose to care
for what was stolen
they fought to this day
to create a new purpose
and live in the remains.
On the backs of a nation
a people divide
resting on traditions,
built on lies
where the stripes go hidden
as to the necks they seek
yet we press towards the mark
in prayer on bended knees.
O. Stephen Peart. 2021 © All rights reserved
About this Poem
When you think about the brutality placed on people, placed into slavery, one wonders how senseless a civilization we can be. The unconscionable attitude, actions and behaviour goes beyond reason and grounds of justification. As I reflect on how Jesus was treated during the crucifixion process, it reminds me how little things have changed. Christ died that we might live. He paid the price of our sin so that we have an opportunity to be forgiven.
Yet time and time again, to this day we see that behaviour carried out. However in our heart of heart, we press towards the mark. We stand tall and strong, for we know that our redeemer lives, and there will come a day of reckoning.