Black History Month (final post) 50th Anniversary of Selma March

The culmination of the movie Selma has brought to the forefront the importance and appreciation of the right to vote in America.  Although we have come a long way in this arena, we still have a long ways to go. We thank all of those who marched for our rights in 1965.  Thank you for enduring on our behalf.  The battle is not over and the struggle continues as long as the rights won are being denied any man in this country.

American Pie

This song is for you,

The heroes

And sheroes

Of our sacred past.

Yours was a complicated past

Filled with anguish and pain.

You were shamed and ignored

And treated like a dirty stain

On America’s floor.

This song is for you.

For all you went through,

We thank you.

Thank you

For purchasing our piece of the

American pie.

We know the price was high.

You suffered and died

That we might have a slice.

Yes we know the price.

So we won’t forget to

Pay our respect

As we take our seat

And feast.

Nothing can be worse than what you had to face.

Still, you established our place.

As long as we are able,

We will take our seat at the table;

 Savoring the taste.

Not one piece will we waste.

Before we eat our slice,

We will consider the price.

For we know good men had to die,

For our piece of the pie.

In homage, we bow our heads

And say, Thank you.

We would not be here without you.

We, your survivors sit in your place.

We thank God for His grace,

And we thank you for standing strong.

For us, you defied wrong,

You fought hard and long

To give us a place to belong.

You labored

Sunrise to sunset

To make sure we would get

What you could not get.

We know the price was high.

You suffered and died.

This song is for you,

Our heroes and sheroes

For all you went through.

We just want to say, Thank you.

From Living the Dream copyright 2014 by Patricia Newman-Harris

March 5, 1965
King and Johnson meet to discuss voting rights act

March 7, 1965
Voting rights marchers are beaten at Edmund Pettus Bridge

March 9, 1965
King leads second attempt at a voting rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Ala.

March 13, 1965
President Johnson denounces the brutality in Alabama in a meeting with governor George Wallace

March 15, 1965
President Johnson addresses Congress in support of a Voting Rights Bill

March 20, 1965National Guard to oversee Selma to Montgomery march

March 25, 1965
Selma to Montgomery March

http://mlk-kpp01.stanford.edu/index.php/encyclopedia/chronologyentry/1965_03_25/

                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

Black History Month--

Phyllis Wheatley, Slave, Author, Poet, On Being Brought From Africa to America

From Africa to America

One man traced his roots back to Africa, back to where it all began.  His odyssey sparked by the story of how, long ago, his people were taken from a land far across the sea.   It was the story of a people stripped of their native heritage and sold into slavery;  A people, without a voice,  without freedom of choice.  It was the story of a people who struggled to hold onto their dignity as their women were violated and their families ripped apart.  When scourged and beaten, they still possessed a courage that was admired and envied.  If they cried out, they cried out in anguish to their Heavenly Father,  who was their only source of hope in a darkened existence.  They were a people whose spirit could not be broken, a people who courageously continued to cling to the customs and values of their motherland. 

Throughout the years, generation after generation told the story of how it all began.  Who would know that one day, the story would find its way back to Africa?

Who would know that this people, once stolen from their native soil would become the fruit of a country that sought to enslave their very souls?  Who would know that this people would rise above their plight and one day take their places among the best in society, becoming doctors, lawyers, and teachers?  It was what they had dreamed of, fought for and hoped one day would come to be.

We can be proud because we have proven that we have inherited the spirit of courage and determination possessed by our African ancestors.  We are born warriors, and as such, we will stand our ground and fight for our place in this land.

Through us, the story of how it all began will go on, from  Africa to America and back again.  We will carry this story throughout time.  It will forever be a part of our history, forever in our hearts and in our souls, for it is the one thing that time can never erase.

 Copyright Patricia Newman-Harris 2014

We will endure!

Black History Month-(continued)

Freedom Train

Freedom Train

What is it I hear?

Sounds like a train drawing near.

Ain’t no ordinary train.

It’s the freedom train.

Underground and out of sight.

Comin like a thief in the night.

Freedom train,

Freedom train

Comin round the bend.

Songs of freedom blowin in the wind.

Freedom train, freedom train.

Gonna ride that freedom train.

Freedom train, freedom train.

Nothing will be the same.

Voices whispering in the dark of night,

Don’t go left, go right.

Bloodhounds drawing near

As if they can smell the fear.

Hush!

Hush!

Don’t make a sound

We will be found.

Can’t get tired now.

Got to keep on going somehow.

Freedom train,

Freedom train.

Gonna ride that freedom train.

Freedom train,

Freedom train

Comin round the bend.

Songs of freedom blowin in the wind.

Waited so long for this day.

Gonna sing a song of freedom in a land far away.

By and by,

No more tears to cry.

All sorrows  passed.

Gonna be free at last.

Freedom train, freedom train

Gonna ride that freedom train.

Those who once came to ride

Have long since died.

I can still hear their spirits calling me.

For what a tragedy

That some had to die and never see

Their dream of freedom become reality.

Wish that they could hear the whistle

Of freedom blowing once again .

Would that I could tell them the suffering

Has come to an end.

All sorrows are passed.

We are free at last.

Freedom train,

Freedom train,

Coming round the bend.

Songs of freedom blowin in the wind.

Freedom train,

Freedom train

Gonna ride that freedom train.

Copyright 2014, by Patricia Newman-Harris, Living the Dream

Happy Valentine's Day-To the gentlemen out there who are looking to impress that special someone. I would like to share this poem.-Still

You don't have to buy her the house on the hill.
If you never buy her that Seville,
She will love you still.
You don't have to take her to Cartier
To make her day.
Just love her in your own sweet way.
She doesn't need a diamond ring or a fancy car.
You will always be her superstar.
It doesn't take an expensive dress.
You don't have to impress.
All the money in the world
Won't make her your girl.
It's the little things that mean a lot.
Don't try to be someone you are not.
You have to know how to make her happy
Whether the cupboards or full or empty.
She's got to know that when times get rough,
Your love will be enough.
You can give her everything money can buy,
But it won't put a sparkle in her eyes.
What good is your money if she doesn't have you?
She has to know your love is true.
It's not the size of the ring
That will make her heart sing.
If you make her your star,
She will always love you just as you are.
You don't have to buy her the house on the hill,
If you never buy her that Seville,
She will love you.
Still.

From:
Promises of Love..Lulu.com
copyright Patricia Newman-Harris

I know some would beg to differ about this, but I believe if you find the one who is coming from a sincere place of love, "Lying safe within her arms", you will be "born again."

Happy Valentine's Day to all!

I Promise You

My love,

Let me show you love like you've never

known before.

I will open the door to emotions you've

never felt before.

I can make your dream of love come true.

I promise you.

If you will say you will be mine.

I will love you for all times.

When I say I love you,

You can believe it is true.

I want to spend the rest of my life with you.

Doing whatever you want to do.

We will cruise to far away places,

Walk the sandy beaches of Kauai,

Just you and I

I can make your dream of love come true.

I promise you.

You will forget all the lovers in your past.

I am certain, I will be your last.

If you say you will be mine,

Our love will be a special kind.

I can make your dream of love come true.

I promise you.

Copyright Patricia Harris 2008

Black History Month-Wk. 2- Tribute to the Little Rock Nine

Tribute to the Little Rock Nine

 

Picture taken from Marquette University.edu.
http://www.marquette.edu/littlerocknine/

Little Rock Nine

Little Rock Nine

When I think of black history,

You come to mind.

In turbulent times

You stood strong

Bravely, fighting to right

our nation's wrong.

You did what you had to do.

Nothing could stop you.

Your courage, your strength,

Your determination

Changed a nation

You climbed high the mountain of

Segregation

So that people of every station

could have a right to a decent education.

Through the name calling and spitting,

You choose to hang tough.

You could have said enough,

But you endured for us.

You suffered humiliation,

anger and wrath,

Every day you went to class.

When threatened with attack

You didn't turn back.

You were so young,

But you stood,

Bravely as you could

How can we not be proud?

Through the angry, screaming crowd,

You pressed.

With  heads held high,

You walked on by,

You sailed the winds of adversity,

Crossed the angry sea

For you and me.

You endured

Resting secure

That your labors would not be in vain.

You bore the anger, you bore the pain.

Now it is up to us to walk through the doors

You opened wide

With the same determination and pride.

You blasted the doors of segregation,

Paved a way to the road of education,

Gave us an opportunity to matriculate

on an equal playing field

That our destiny could no longer be sealed

by the chains of inequality.

You crossed the line

So that victory would be mine.

When I think of black history

Little Rock Nine,

You will always come to mind.

Copyright 2014, Patricia Newman-Harris
Living the Dream

Open letter to our children

I'm writing this letter to you in the hopes that you will not only listen,, you will hear. Would that I could wake those who slumber and sleep on the bed of complacency and apathy.  Would that I could make you see that you don't have to be content with the ordinary.  I know you get tired of hearing the same old same, but I want you to understand that you can be whatever you want to be.  You are not confined by person or place, color or race.  Oh, that you would finally hear what the universe is so loudly speaking.  These are messages that some don't want you to hear, but if you listen, you can hear them loud and clear.  I know you can do anything, but you have to believe you can.  Failure is not a fact, nor is it is an option to be considered.  You have the same courage, determination, and power as the Little Rock Nine.  You don't have the obstacles they had to endure.  You just get up, put on your clothes and go to school.  There is no one physically standing outside to block your way.  Those children endured the worse so that you would have the opportunity to equal education.  Granted, all schools are still not equal, but you have to do the best you can with what you are given.  You can't blame your parents, the school, or the teacher.  Inevitably, you are responsible for you.  If you feel you are not learning in class, use the internet.  You use it for anything else you want to know.  It is a powerful tool of education that is available to almost anyone.

In closing, I want you to know You have been handed a great legacy.  The doors of opportunity have been opened wide.   It hurts to see you throwing it away without thought or consideration of our history.  Your freedom is a gift that was bought with the blood, sweat and tears of our ancestors.  It is not yours to throw away.  You have to seize every opportunity, throwing nothing away.  Nothing! 

In case you haven't noticed, people are quickly gobbling up the crumbs that fall from our table.  They are hungry for the opportunities you so callously throw away.  Here, we sit in the land of plenty willingly starving from a lack of knowledge, refusing to go to college, when our forefathers burned for the chance to learn.

I hope you will accept and consider what I have said seriously.  Your future is in your hands.  Do all you can to stand.  When you feel like you can't stand anymore, stand.  I know you can.  Remember, the race is not given to the swift or to the strong, but to the one who is willing to endure to the end.  I want to see you win.  That is my sole desire. 

Happy Black History Month

During Black History Month, I will be sharing some of the poems from my book that are about people that have shaped our history through their willingness to sacrifice.  It is because of them that we can enjoy the privileges we have today.

Rosa Parks

Rosa Parks
Rosa Parks with Martin Luther King, Jr. in background.
Born	Rosa Louise McCauley February 4, 1913 Tuskegee, Alabama, U.S.
Died	October 24, 2005 (aged 92) Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Nationality	American
Occupation	Civil rights activist
Known for	Montgomery Bus Boycott
Home town	Tuskegee, Alabama
Spouse(s)	Raymond Parks (1932–1977)

Rosa Louise McCauley Parks (February 4, 1913 – October 24, 2005) was an African-American Civil Rights activist, whom the United States Congress called "the first lady of civil rights" and "the mother of the freedom movement".^[1] Her birthday, February 4, and the day she was arrested, December 1, have both become Rosa Parks Day, commemorated in both California and Ohio.  from Wikipedia

We celebrate and commemorate Rosa Parks Day on February 4th.  Here's to you Mrs. Parks.  We will forever be thankful for your contribution to Civil Rights.

Ride Rosa Ride

December 1955

One bus ride

Changed the world as we knew it

Altered our destiny,

Redefined history.

One woman boarded the bus

And took a seat

To rest her tired feet.

When asked to stand

She held her head high

And let it all ride

When threatened with jail,

She prevailed.

So, ride Rosa ride

Ride for every stripe to our forefather’s back,

Ride for justice,

Freedom and equality

Ride for you and me.

Ride for every slave that died.

Rest your tired feet and ride.

She was ordered to stand

But that wasn’t in the plan

She held her head high

And let it ride

Tired of accepting what had always been

She threw caution to the wind

Ride Rosa ride.

Take a seat

Rest your tired feet

Hold your head high

And ride

Ride for every stripe to our forefather’s back

Ride for every racial attack

Ride for every injustice we had to face

Take your rightful place.

Hold your head high and ride.

You didn’t realize what you did

But you changed the world as we knew it

That’s what you did.

That’s what you did.

Quietly, peacefully,

You unveiled the ugliness of inequality

When you decided to ride.

Ride Rosa, ride

Hold your head high

Ride, Rosa, ride,

Ride, ride, ride.

Ride Rosa, ride!

copyright Patricia Newman-Harris 2014:  Living the Dream,