The Freedom Bell

Dear Black Kings and Queens,

Driving down Troost, Kansas City’s most prominent racial dividing line, I see how the remnants of slavery plague this community.

Stripped of your identity,

my black and brown, brothers and sisters

don’t know that you were once the

queens and kings of Africa.

You have no clue the power that your

flesh commands.

I hear the shrewd cries of

silent angels.

No reparations awarded

for the creation of this country

built on the sacrifice of your blood and bones.

Instead,

a broken system condemns you to a life of

low retention rates;

high pregnancy risks;

minimum wage pay;

and prison or death

as your only fate.

Black bodies lie motionless in the streets,

their tragic demise at the hands of our protectors.

The blood of our sons and daughters

burns black on the pavement

To instill a permanent stain

that does not wash away when the rain comes.

No conviction is made.

What message does that send about our worth?

Left here to rot away, you weep,

“Where is my freedom, my liberty and my justice?”

The cries pierce, but ignite my soul.

I stare into your soft faces, and I see my reflection.

The scars lift from my soul because

YOU share my truth.

Our smooth black butter skin becomes the biggest threat

when we surpass the trap they set up for us.

I call for the ringing of the freedom bell.

To my African queens and kings:

stand in resistance of the societal norms they inflict upon you.

To my little black boys and girls: I can only encourage you to love your

sweet, smooth chocolate skin dripping with honey and gold.

Don’t hide from the sun that harmonizes with your skin and

emboldens it to glow.

The song of beauty that I refused to sway with

resides in you.

Dance to the beat that gyrates inside of you.

To all of my beautiful black people: A strength radiates within you, and

So, we must rise.

With the whips slashing through our skin

and the hot sun beaming on our neck,

we must rise to stare injustice in the face.

Our fros unite to hold the strength of a million tortured negro souls.

We may only break free of the societal restrictions imposed on us

by coming together.

It is because of the injustice that I have witnessed that

I pledge to be a voice for you

if you can no longer carry this burden on your shoulders.

YOU have shown me my true identity.

Love,

A Melanified Queen