Beforeword: Each year on March 25 the UN recognizes “International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery & the Transatlantic Slave Trade”. This year’s theme, Justice in Action, calls on the global community to confront this history with honesty and to acknowledge its enduring impact. This is my tribute poem.
On this day we name the past, refuse to turn away
A brutal, shameful history we’re called to face today
Not only grief, but action too must rise from what we see
For echoes of that suffering still shape humanity
Across the seas, in chains they bore what none should have to bear
A system built on stolen lives, on violence and despair
It carved the lines of race we know, still visible and deep
A legacy of injustice the present world must keep
This day is not just memory, not bound to what has been
It lives within our current fight, in systems still unseen
To remember is to challenge all that remains that’s wrong
To raise our voices, stand aligned, unyielding, firm, and strong
We honor those who suffered, those who dared resist
By working toward a world where equity and equality exist
Let justice be our answer, let truth our guiding light
Remembering the past to confront, and racism to fight
Other commemoration poems:
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Poems & More 
The root problem of humanity’s sinful nature is evident in the atrocities of slavery committed throughout human history. Child sex trafficking is a modern form of slavery. Thank you for speaking for justice, Dawn.
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Indeed Lynn, sadly modern day slavery sees children and women trafficked across borders and within states everyday. They’re subjected to horrific crimes against their bodies and minds and so little is being done to abandon this heinous crime. We must all speak out for justice. Thanks for stopping by.
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Yes Queen, in remembrance of! Beautiful! 💖🥰👸🏼
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Lest we forget …
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Beautiful Dawn .
I echo your words!
Amen 🙏
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Thank you Maggie.
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💔 😔 🙏🏾
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We need healing. ❤️🩹
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Absolutely beautiful and a powerful message Dawn. Bravo
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We keep attention on the impact of over 300 years of sustained brutality that lives on in norms and systems at all levels of society. History is a master teacher if we but listen, learn, change. Thanks for stopping by Sadje 🙂💕🙂
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Very nice. I admire the juxtaposition of cause and effect of slavery. HugsRoxanne Plz let me know if you receive this email. I hit the reply button and a strange address popped up. Thx
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Yes I received your comment. Thanks for engaging with this poem. It’s been a practice for over 300 years, the cause and effect of slavery still defines many of the injustices in modern day society. It’s critical to keep up the activism lest we forget. Thanks for stopping by 🙂🙏🏽🙂
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I would love to see the issue of reparation be taken off the back burner and become center stage.
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I agree. In fact as I write Ghana’s President is in New York to propose a resolution at the U.N. General Assembly today (March 25) to recognize transatlantic slavery as the “gravest crime in the history of humankind” and to call for reparations. Ghana has been one of strongest/loudest voices. The Caribbean (CARICOM) has a 10-point reparations plan. Some former colonialist have apologized and have funded research and education initiatives but noting at the scale commensurate to the crimes committed. As you say it’s on the “back burner” because there’s no unified system or agreement across countries.
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