Messiah

Make

Us

Proud.

Six hundred years of torment and captivity from everyone including them they ask us to

Make them proud

From being the first country to auction slaves at the expensive of Portugal

They say

Make them proud

From the transatlantic slave trade that took some of us to America “Land of the Free and Home of the Brave”

“Make us proud” they say.

“Why” we would ask

With shock faces, red eyes, and urgent voices they tell us

“We’ve suffered too long

They lashed us till our skin flowed red

They disrespected us until we no longer respected ourselves

When we became the first Independent African nation we still weren’t free

They smacked us out if we spoke out of terms

Beat us down if we protested and tried to fight

And when we gained enough strength

To voice our opinion and stand up with the full-fledged confidence of a human being . . .

When we rose above . . . 

they shot us down and moved on.

When we finally obtained rights we faced slow acceptance

Why?

Because we disgraced ourselves

We initiated violence among our own ranks

Killed our brothers and sisters “in the name of the streets”

Created gangs

Dealt drugs

Sagged our pants so we walked like penguins

And shirts so baggy they were like dresses

Our language so vulgar it’s appalling

We dropped out of school and decided mixtapes were the only way

Somewhere along the way we lost our mission so please son,

Make. Us. Proud.”

This naïve boy realized why they pushed him so hard

Why they scolded him for bring home B’s and C’s

It wasn’t about making them proud

They needed to be saved.

He and the many others like him were the last hope.

They must avenge a race that has become comedic

Fight against a society that wasn’t built for them to succeed

Erase their mistakes and their sins

Rise above the challenge and restore a race to order

Make them proud?

No.

I will save them.