Resilience

We were taken from our homelands

our prosperity and sense of community stolen from us

our families torn apart

cultural identities dismantled forgotten...

forced to work all day

beneath the blistering hot sun, dehydrated and burned out

bruised knees, scraped elbows

wounded from whips

desperately yearning for a way out but their cries were never heard

They locked us

in an endless loop of poverty, mental illness

disease

and depression

from Holly Springs, Mississippi and the shackles of slavery

to Chicago

seeking independence

and “liberty”  
this was the journey of my ancestors

We were never freed

after the Emancipation Proclamation, never freed

from generational trauma

and pain

rejected

from schools

unable to receive the education we deserved

Oppression

Segregation

Stereotypes

and racism

Poverty naturally followed, Haunting us...

A never-ending maze with no exit

only dead ends.

My relatives suffered

rat bites and tuberculosis as babies

gunshot wounds and addiction as adults

no money for doctors

unstable living conditions

poor ventilation

never knowing

what’s next...

Surviving paycheck to paycheck, food stamps

welfare

Evictions and discrimination

13 of my aunts and uncles

lived in a tiny apartment

5 slept on a single, soiled mattress

a drumline of tragedies

Many of them

broke the cycle

my grandmother became the first

African American female Assistant District Attorney in El Paso, Texas

scholarships and hard work paved her way

My mother is a survivor

of PTSD and panic attacks, a single mother

who cares for me

with unwavering love

We don’t know much of our history or where in Africa we come from

The knowledge of our history was stripped away from us buried deep in our family’s past, it

remains a mystery...

One thing that will never be taken away from us is our culture

We have created

a rich culture

Through centuries of oppression our coping mechanisms soothed us

comforting melodies  
gospel

jazz

blues

and soul

What do we have?

We have our imagination We redefine and reframe to make us sane

documents detail our ancestors’ stories Defiant

and bold

full of vibrant characters

riveting music and soulful dishes

When I am fearful

I remember to be courageous

I remember that I have ancestors who were beaten and lynched

My ancestors were

Slaves

Survivors

Refugees

Migrants

This is my lineage

This is my history

We are resilient

Resilient survivors