Black History,
I pray for the time when that phrase will be taboo
No longer embedded in the normalcy of this nation
See, I pray for a day when that term will be useless
in the correct appraisal of our turbulent yet proud history.
I long for the day when “Black History” breaks the confining shackles
And becomes American History
For we have contributed far too much to this prominent land
To only be recognized for one month out of twelve
So I gaze at the sky and imagine a time when Black history
is given its “green card”
And accepted as history
Not black history, not white history, or green history
Just plain and simple History
You see, we did not come by way of the northern trail
Nor did we have stock in the Louisiana Purchase
We made our voyage through the middle passage
We did not sail the seven seas in the comforts of a Nina, a Pinta,
or even a Titanic for that matter.
We were not aboard the Mayflower
The only flowers we saw were the many cotton plants we picked on plantations
Toiling endlessly in the fields, yet unconquered still
And although thousands perished,
They did not perish in vain
For they are smiling in heaven time and time again
Every time we succeed, they succeed
Every moment we smile, they are smiling triumphantly, gallantly 
I have seen our history and those that would attempt
to leave it clouded in mystery
To them I say: you cannot cloud what has shined for so long
You cannot make right, what has been so wrong
Our history is deep like the many rivers and oceans we have seen
Our culture is rich, alive, bursting with exuberance
We must remember so that we may tell this unique and powerful story
We must unmask the unseen and expose the true glory
Does this seem like an insurmountable task?
Such an inquisitive question one may ask
We have endured struggle, hardship, and pain
We have reached the illustrious sunshine, after years of pouring rain 
To emerge as a nation of the proud
Look in the mirror brother, you too my black sister
Look next to you right now, look at how beautiful and wonderful we are
Dark skinned queens, light skinned kings, and brown skinned princesses
We are truly oracles of the divine 
Put here to shine for as long as the Lord
would have people walking on the face of this planet
Be proud black people
For God has willed it so
No longer will we stay stagnant
Now is indeed the time for us to grow
We will reap what we sow 
We shall learn what we don’t know
We will prosper for Dr. King
We will fight for El Hajj Malik Shabazz
We will challenge for Mr. Dubois
We will be creative for Zora Neale Hurston
We will write poetry for Maya Angelou
We will remember Amadoo Diallo
We will laugh for Redd Foxx
We will love each other for Marvin Gaye
We will not defer our dreams for Langston Hughes
We will love each other in all shades for Wallace Thurman
We will dance for for Jackie Wilson
We will sing for Billie Holiday
We must resist for Harriet Tubman
We must protest for Rosa Parks
We must endure for everyone who ever dreamed
For everyone who ever accomplished
For everyone we lost along they Way
We must hope, pray, and fight
There will be no giving up
Never will we go quietly into the night
We did not perish with our heroes who gladly died to see us reach our summit
For now is the time to succeed 
I don’t know about you, but I will not plummet!
Pray for the possibility of a brighter Day
Our dreams need nurturing
We must encourage our youth to prosper
The sky is the limit
The limit is not the sky
We must yell proudly, soundly: We will not die!
We have found the way, and at times it may seem scary
To my people, this is the solution
You can kill a revolutionary but you cannot kill a revolution
So I leave you with these words and hope that you take them to the heart
“Black history” is just beginning 
And today marks the Start.