Gifted: Glowing, Individual, Favored, Through, Eternal, Divinity
Legends: Leaving, Everyone, Great, Examples, Nobody, Deserves
God did, so here we are. Broken chains are an afterthought.
We were born kings and queens. A hiccup in history wouldn’t have us relinquish our sense of being. NEVER!! Black excellence – we remember our gifted legends, in which we still feel their presence: Thurgood Marshall, Frederick Douglass, Maya Angelou, Nelson Mandela. Gifted legends who stood for a cause, who refused to ever let up. We honor you as we embody our truth.
We honor Harriet Tubman. When I arrive at heaven’s gate, how I long to hold your face. Looking into your eyes, I will cry with immense admiration, as you endured a hatred that powered the way that saved so many men and women from slavery. Your courage remains embossed in history as a lesson that we’re all vessels for the unforgettable, monumental. How you made the land turn using lanterns–beacons of freedom orchestrated by a Black queen. It gives me chills just to speak of you.
We honor Martin Luther King. Your marches became the woven fabric of freedom. A broken nation needed a blanket that swaddled the notion of hope as you projected a dream when peace couldn’t even be conceived. We shall overcome, having planted seeds with your speech. Obama showed just how far your gardening would reach.
Friend, inspiration, martyr. In wonderment of how your presence today could take everyone that much further, we will continue to share the message of love with tact and respect – honoring you all as giants we will never forget.
Before we honor this next brother, I find it necessary to proclaim a personal confession to illustrate his greatness: I will never, ever, ever – I mean ever – wear a 49ers jersey unless it’s stitched with Kaepernick across the back of it.
Modern-day movement, bold soldier. Rumored to have disrespected our flag and our soldiers – a convenient narrative imperative to dethrone a prince on a mission to bring peace to our streets. Swept under the rug by the powers that be, but you’ll forever remain a gifted legend to me. You stood for a cause when it cost you your passion. Your reputation was smeared so badly your career isn’t something you could ever come back to.
It’s instances like this in which I use our history to try to solve today’s mysteries, like: how can we be free from slavery but not discrimination? Because implicit bias sneaks its way around the proclamation. I’m craving change, so I love every day. I’m not bound by a device because I’m led by a GOD who teaches me to love what’s inside.
So I love you because you’re worth it. See, when I’m loving you, then I’m serving my purpose. I’ll lead my family with the knowledge Martin handed me. I learned love conquers all – those who are the hardest to love are the ones that need it the most. So be patient. Only hurt people hurt people. So rather than vengeance, I’m reppin’ kindness and temperance. Tolerance and mending will flow from every appendage to ensure our ancestors’ legacy lives forever in remembrance.
I pray our ancestors look upon us with pride, confident that their cause, their sacrifice, will never die. We lift every voice to proclaim that our life will not end with your grave. NAH! You live on through every victory, through every smile. We lift you in celebration. We thank God that He made you.
In the words of Nelson Mandela: We were born to make manifest the glory of GOD that’s within us. It’s not just in some of us. It’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, as we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.