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Blessed
I am with the gift of life
The
chance of opportunity
On
the back of my ancestors
I
reap the rewards of their struggles
How
often do we stop and acknowledge
All
the sacrifices they’ve made
From
Rosa Parks to MLK
To
all the others who are nameless, faceless
Back
in the day
They
all stood on the same mountaintop
Looked
around saw the desire inhabiting our people
Somehow
knowing that better days would come
They
all laid the foundation
On
their backs we all walk
Is
it too much to ask that in reverence to the past
We
stop using nigga as a term of endearment
Imagine
the face of Dr. King if he heard this word of degradation
Used
today by our people with so much affection
I
imagine he would be brought to tears
Of
how much we’ve regressed using words of such disrespect
Used
to make our grandmothers and grandfathers seem less than human
And
won’t someone of affluence with the ear of today’s youth
Stand
up and be counted touched with a conscience
That
profit before human dignity
Shouldn’t
be our legacy
Blessed
I am
So
blessed I am.
Dean
Jean-Pierre
(This work is copyrighted)