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
with graceful ease you gave your children life from the deepest and loveliest part of you you shaped and molded us into the strong and dark image of you with your lush vegetation you adequately provided for us you sheltered us from the sweltering sun from the bowels of your soul came treasures untold always, you make us strong—MAMA
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then the foreigners came greedy, conniving, violent, colonial powers came trampling—too dark, they say, let in light destroying—uncivilized, it’s their Christian duty to humanize killing—like animals, trophy-hunted for the gaming snatching—freedom stolen, for plantations of free labor raping—black bodies assaulted, fulfilled their sexual desire
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for hundreds of years trampled destroyed killed snatched raped but always, you make us strong— MAMA
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and there you lie MAMA open and barren your treasures stolen your body exploited your children taken to far distant shores their ancestry and identity stripped away don’t you fear MAMA
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your children are here
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we endure—never silent! we revolt—never silent! we reclaim—never silent! the blood of your children flows like river—MAMA
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our cries ascend—never silent! our tears descend—never silent! freedom—never silent! freedom is—never silent! freedom is coming—never silent! freedom is coming but that is just the beginning we can never never be silent because always, you make us strong— MAMA
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we’ve paid with our lives whipped-lynched-shot we’ve paid with our tears raped-violated-humiliated with our blood and our tears we reclaim we reclaim you, MAMA with our blood and our tears we reclaim our heritage, MAMA for always, always you make us strong, MAMA
This marks the anniversary of Africans in America 400 plus 5 years Let the story be told in full of ancestral lineage—Kings and Queens till slavery interferes
August of 1619 the record declares: “20 and odd” Africans kidnapped, sold, stripped of their rights Forced-exile, from African land, so began resistance fight
Let this be clear—1619, that is America’s true founding The greatest story, never told, its truth is now unfolding
The treatment of enslaved Africans divided this nation North versus South, civil war gained only partial emancipation
Enslaved people “shall then, thenceforward, and forever be free” But, this long awaited proclamation didn’t free all from slavery
Freedom road paved with hard-won gains broke Galveston’s stronghold “Jubilee Day” birthed Juneteenth—African American holiday to nationally behold
Decades of slavery’s brutality bred a racist legacy The reconstruction period fueled white supremacy
First there were 13 then 15 constitutional amendments made Slavery’s official end and partial voting rights were gained
As African Americans won elections to ascend to seats of power So did terrorism to intimidate, to suppress, and disempower
Jim-crow, segregation, separate but equal under law Pursuit of education was self-improvement path foresaw
Or should they return to Africa build a country of their own? Garvey’s Black Star Line ideas eventually overthrown
No—Stay! Fight! Determined! Resolute resistance! Writers wield pen’s might to stir cultural renaissance
Freedom rides, sit ins, marches all demonstrating “If we must die let it not be like hogs”, Claude McKay’s mantra resonating
From Tubman’s Underground Railway created to be free To Malcom’s inspired Black Power movement for justice and equality
LISTEN … Say their names together: Rodney. Ahmaud. Breonna. George. And so many others
The clarion call; Black Lives Matter— Time to end violence against our sisters and our brothers
Starting the marathon for a political seat at the table too Shirley Chisholm runs for President in 1972
Jesse Jackson, he picked up the mantle in 1984 The power of the black vote galvanized and opened wide the door
In comes Barack Obama, first Black President elected in 20-0-9 Next Kamala Harris, Black and woman Vice President—for the very first time
It’s been centuries after centuries fighting always to restore Our rightful place as Kings, Queens, Prince, Princesses like ancestors before
No tide of racism is high enough to impede rights-based education Black history now a critical theory in schools’ curriculum foundation
Martin Luther the King of nonviolent civil action Let it be known—our collective strength emerged to shape the identity of this nation
“Surely been rebuked, surely been scorned But still my soul is-a heaven-born
If you don’t know that I been redeemed Just follow me down to Jordan’s stream”
This is what it’s all about — Echoes of liberation we will shout:
Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!
2024 All Rights Reserved
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“Ark of Return”—a sculpture commissioned by the United Nations to commemorate the end of slave trade (UN NY Headquarters) to coincide with the International Day of remembrance for the victims of slavery
Slavery Transatlantic Trade Families … torn away Millions deprived, trauma … generations span
Prejudice Harmful norms live on Impact then … continues … today, racist legacy … reverberating
See the world … through ethical lens Status quo … transforming Education needed, to … end injustice now
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… enslaved Africans kept at this holding dungeon were taken through this door, loaded to ships and taken across the Atlantic never to see home again
Lest we forget:
Retraced ancestral path
Standing in the “door of no return”
The beauty of the vista before me obliterated
I see instead anguish of fore-parents
Shackled, stolen into slavery
“Ark of Return”—a sculpture commissioned by the United Nations to commemorate the end of slave trade (UN NY Headquarters) to coincide with the International Day of remembrance for the victims of slavery
Like what you see? To never miss a post click HERE👈 to subscribe & follow the blog. I love hearing from you, so remember to “like” & comment. For more content start HERE👈
A collection of writing by Dominic Riccitello — intimate conversations, personal essays, and poetic reflections on relationships, loss, and self-discovery.