I wrote this after a wave of immense sadness hit me on Juneteenth.
Today we celebrate freedom
That's what the white folks think
In reality, today we grapple with the grief of partial freedom while finding joy in how far we've come
We carry the weight of those who came before us, we walk amongst each other carrying the scars of oppression woven into our DNA, passed down through generations
DNA that calls us to fight, to persevere in the face of immense odds,
to love,
to dance,
to thrive
We hold on to pride, hoping it will scream louder than the rage, the pain, and the grief
So much grief
We mourn in our homes, in our churches, in our hearts for those we'll never know but whose will to live brought us to today and for those whose names sit attached to hashtags forever living as examples of how far we still have to go
Today they'll have think pieces and company-approved ads to show how much they care
Tomorrow they'll look past us, past our continual struggles
Past our grief, past our longing to thrive freely without fear
But we will carry it all in our hips that sway to the beat, in our hair that coils when the rain baptizes us, upon our flesh that's kissed by the sun itself
The grief flows through all of who we are
Continuing to push us forward
Onward
Because the pain of those who came before is our pain, their fight is our fight
Freedom-ish has come at a price and our grief is the reminder that we aren't at the mountaintop yet, but we have the bloodlines to get us there
Onward
Through the pain and strife
Onward
Until excellence isn’t the barometer for our humanity
Onward
Until our joy is the only sound we hear
Onward
Onward
Onward
Copyright (c) 2024 Rayven Holmes
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