BY EDWARD NICHOLAS WRIGHT JR.

As an African American, my nationality wasn’t legislated via suffrage. Instead, it was decided by an involuntary transit so replete with suffering some deem it unfathomable. As if we’d embellish or dramatize a pilgrimage of anguish, torture, and distress. Stripped of humanity, dignity, or distinction beyond that designated to us by Plutocrats vested in our servitude… still WE rose!!!

In the aftermath of systemic dehumanization, upon a page devoid of text, we author a tale of resilience. Slowly, with an uncalculated grace and an undaunted, categorical belief in ourselves, African Americans shaped an identity from the rubble of a sordid past. Like the proverbial phoenix… still WE rose!!!

With pride, I reflect on the trials and tribulations of our forefathers. The struggle to establish OUR station persists to the present day. However, when the inventory of OUR collective endeavors as a PEOPLE is tallied, accurately, it should infuse Black souls with an inviolable sense of worth and belonging… still WE rise!!!

We’re indigenous to a continent that is unmercifully and destructively plundered for its trove of valuable resources it births. Primarily, the Black bodies whose blood, sweat, and tears erected the foundation for a superpower to be born… still WE rose!!!

There’s no emollient or balm to soothe the wounds this country has inflicted. The cicatrix covering our wounds has gradually entered transition to an indiscernible scar. Yet, vestiges of subjugation guide the minds of a malignant faction of our society, persons whose very identity is predicated upon an antiquated illusion of Imperialism. As if physiological adaptations displayed within the motley of denizens in this country have a divine rubric for which they have been appointed executor. Although said ideology is receding, this nation has more growth to experience before fully eradicating the sickness of racism and reaching its true potential. It’ll take a societal transformation to adopt a mindset of total inclusion and equality in order to cure the animus manifested by fringe elements in this country… still WE rise!!!

Our cultural rebirth has been a sight to behold. It was cultivated from an infertile concept, yet it produces a style too complex for singular definition. Black culture is constantly evolving and becoming more!!! It’s courted and appropriated for global gain. Be it OUR MUSIC, apparel, physiological traits, culinary prowess… OUR barest essence has inspired judicious imitation.

STILL WE RISE!!!