Observance of Black History Month

 “They Came!  They Didn’t  Ask Us NOTHING!!”

I received a call one evening in February 1999 asking if I would write something pertaining to  the observance of Black History Month. I  was recovering from bronchitis, so I sat in bed and began to write.  At the end of 2 hours, what you are about to read is what flowed from me.  

They came.  They didn’t ask us NOTHING!

     We were going about doing the things we normally do on any given day.  Because we lived on the coast, the intruders saw us as “easy pickin’s”.  When we saw their hostile faces with their guns, knives, sticks, ropes, whips, and chains, we knew they had an evil agenda.  Although we fought, we were outnumbered and out armed.

They came.  They didn’t ask us NOTHING!

     We could not understand their language nor could they understand ours, but it did not matter to them.  Pain is a universal language understood by all.  Pain and the threat of pain are both effective persuaders.  It also did not matter that some of us were Kings and Princes, Queens and Princesses, tribal leaders, someone’s mother or father, daughter or son.  They viewed us as they would a valley full of wild and free horses---animals to be caught, conquered, broken, dominated, and possessed.

                

They came.  They didn’t ask us NOTHING!

   We were herded like animals for that horrible two month trip to some place called America without being able to say good-bye to our loved ones.  We were packed like sardines, shackled and chained, enclosed in the belly of a slave ship like Jonah in the belly of the fish.  Unlike Jonah, we did not voluntarily CHOOSE to be there. Many of us did not survive the trip.  Sickness and disease from the urine, feces, and vomit claimed many lives.  Starvation, dehydration, little or no opportunity to get fresh air, and the denial of the freedom of mobility claimed the lives of many.  Brokenness, homelessness, and despair claimed the lives of many.  For those few of us who somehow made it on deck, we decided to throw ourselves overboard. At the very least, we had the satisfaction of knowing that we died "free" and with some degree of dignity.

They came.  They didn’t ask us NOTHING!

      Once we landed on American soil, every degrading, dehumanizing, unimaginable thing was done to break our strong  spirits.  Our names were taken from us.  In our culture, our names carried great significance, so our captors changed them.  Our languages were taken from us as we were forced to learn theirs.  Our arms were left empty, aching, and heavy as our our children were ripped from our arms and laps in order to be sold to the highest bidder like cattle.  Our mothers, sisters, and daughters were defiled and raped at the “massa’s” whim.  Our men were emasculated on every hand and used as studs to breed strong “field hands”.  At the auction block, prospective buyers poked and prodded us as they checked our teeth, eyes, muscle tone, fingernails, and genitalia much like a veterinarian may examine a family pet during an exam.

They came.  They didn’t ask us NOTHING!

      These attacks in every area of our lives were meant to destroy our very spirits, and for some, unfortunately, they were successful.  However, for the most part, these attacks backfired!  The devil is a liar!  We are still here!  We are stronger than ever!  We have survived!  We are more than conquerors!

We have always been a strong people (WE HAD TO BE), a people of great faith (WE NEVER GAVE UP), and a resilient people (WE JUST COULDN’T BE KEPT DOWN).  We must never forget who we are and how we came to be who we are.  We must never forget the lives of those who built the bridges that have brought us to where we are now.  Many, both Black and White, have paid with their lives for us to be able vote, to sit wherever we choose to sit on public transportation, to attend any school, etc

Although Africa, called the Mother Land, is the home land/birth place of our ancestors, it is important to realize that America is also our homeland.  Yes, THEY CAME!  No, THEY DIDN’T ASK US NOTHING!  But since we are here, we stake our claim that this land is also rightfully ours!  The receipt was signed with decades of sweat from free, forced labor.  It was sealed with the bloodshed on American soil, as well as, Korea, Vietnam and the Perian Gulf.  We have  possessed the land!

Let us walk closer to the Lord than ever before!  Let us press toward the mark of the prize of the *HIGH CALLING of God which is in Christ Jesus!  He whom the Son has set free is **FREE INDEED!  Keep the faith!

IMANI!

(February 1999)

~cwp~

*Philippians 3:14 (NKJV)  I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

**John 8:36 (NKJV)  Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.

~CWP~