I AM BLACK

I AM BLACK

NOT ONLY AS A COLOUR

BUT AS A RACE

I COME IN DIFFERENT SHADES

JET BLACK, MAHOGONY, CARAMEL, GALAXY AND EVEN TOFFEE BROWN

MY COLOUR IS NOT ALIEN

NOR DOES IT LOWER MY STATUE AS A HUMAN BEING

I EAT THE SAME MOUTH-WATERING AND SUCCULENT MEALS AS YOU

THE SAME RED BLOOD COURSES THROUGH OUR VEINS

I AM BLACK

THIS IS NEITHER A TITLE NOR A PROCLAMATION

THIS IS A FACT

A FACT WITH A STORY

A STORY THAT HAS BEEN CIRCULATING THROUGH THE UNDERBELLY OF HISTORY

BURSTING TO REVEAL ITSELF AND ALL ITS SECRETS

WHERE SHOULD WE START

WE ARE NOT JUST A COLOUR

WE ARE A PEOPLE

WE ARE A UNITED FRONT

BUT INDIVIDUALLY WE STAND FIRM AS AN OAK TREE

NOT PHAZED BY THE MAYHEM AND CONSTANT BOMBARDMENT THIS WORLD HAS TO OFFER

ALL THESE YEARS OF SLAVERY AND OPPRESSION HAS NOT TARNISHED OUR FLAWLESS LOVE AND DEVOTION TOWARDS OUR SKIN COLOUR

DAY BY DAY WE STRUGGLED

BUT OUR FAITH IN GOD NEVER FAILED

THE GREAT LEGENDS THAT BECAME MARTYRS

THEIR NAMES DEEPLY IMPLANTED IN OUR HISTORY

LIKES OF MALCOLM X, MLK JNR, JESSE OWENS, MARCUS GARVEY AND THE LIST IS EVER GROWING

THEY SMASHED THE CHAINS THAT WERE HOLDING US BACK

AND OPEN THE PATHWAY FOR OUR NEXT GENERATION TO PROSPER

YES I AM BLACK

OR SHOULD I SAY …

YES WE ARE BLACK

BUT BLACK DOES NOT STAND ALONE

JUST AS BLACK IS CONJURED UP BY A MIXTURE OF DIFFERENT COLOURS

SO IS THE PLANET WE CALL EARTH

WHICH FROM SPACE

RESEMBLES AN ARTIST’S PAINT PALLET

A COMBINATION OF VARIOUS COLOURS

WITH ALL THEIR MOLECULES JOINING TOGETHER

TO FORM THE MAGNIFICENT SPECTACLE WE LIVE IN

SO INDEED WE ARE BLACK

AND OUR HISTORY TELLS A STORY

BUT IT DOES NOT DEFINE US

JUST AS WTHIN THE COLOUR SPECTRUM NO COLOUR STANDS ALONE

NEITHER SHALL THESE BEINGS BASKED IN THIS BEAUTIFULL BLACK SKIN BE LONELY ISLANDS

 WE MUST THEN EMBRACE THE FLURRY OF COLOURS THAT WE ARE BLESSED WITH

FOR IT IS THIS INTRICATE FUSION THAT CREATED SUCH NATURAL BEAUTY

OF THE NATIONS PROUD COLOURS

AS A MIRAGE OF A GLISTENING RAINBOW

BUT

 TAKE HEED OF ONE CRUCIAL FACT  

WE

WILL ALWAYS BE PROUD TO PROCLAIM

TO THE HEAVENS

AND TO ALL

THAT

WE ARE BLACK!

By echoshimix

Boxes.

In some respects, we are nothing but lettering and numbers on various pieces of paper and cards.
From birth certificates to passports to drivers' licenses to the forms we fill in every single time any single things happens.
Same questions.
Name. Date of birth. Gender. Race. Race.
(Although that won't be taken into account at all in the processing of this form)
Please tick the box which applies to you
Tick. The. Box.
Tick. The. Box.
How dare you try to squeeze me and my heritage into one tiny box?
Mixed: white and black.
Mixed: white and asian.
Mixed: other.
Mixed: other. Is that all I can tick to represent what I am?
The rivers that ran riot through the souls of my ancestors cannot and will not be contained by your box
The Gongola river where they washed their clothes and washed their souls and were born anew
Mass gatherings at the Ganges to soak their far from sullenly coloured saris
And give their young freedom to splash and wade as they pleased
Your box cannot and will not define me
The contours of my countries nor those of my corpus do not course in straight, angular lines, they will not fit
In fact, all of your boxes fail in their attempts to imprison me within their categories and subcategories
My female form will not be fettered
The ebbs and flos of she, the bump when life begins inside of me are not lines and right angles, they are curvaceous and round
Like the sun and the moon
Naturally in tune with nature and the natural

In actual fact I refuse to fill your forms and be filed away

Take me at face value

Look at my face and evaluate,

cos when you look into my eyes, you'll see more than could ever be imagined on a piece of paper or an electronic checkbox

Listen to my voice and let the decibles of my laughter ripple through your bones and then you;ll begin to know who. I. am.

Don't need to be packed in boxes and put in storage on the shelves of society, standing idly by as worthless as my ancestors were once said to be. I will be seen AND heard.

Four walls won't suppress me.

I'll jump out of the box, spread my wings and fly

Nothing to hide

Even better I'll soar on the wings of the Most High

And yes, I'm a Christian but that's not to say that I can be defined in a cube of stereotypes

I'm not "happy clappy" or a "bible basher" or "boring" or "restrained by the rules and regulations of my religion."

You need to unfurl the lines of this convenient little box you've put me in and gaze at the cross upon which my Saviour hung, when He personified love and became the sacrifice.

Perfection slain for my sake. And yours.

So take me and yourself out of the box that society has put you in, define yourself in Christ, look at you as you are seen through His eyes, cling to the cross, don't allow this four sided mathematical form to mould you or form you, oppress you or cause you to conform to the ways of this world.

Renew your mind, look to Christ, in Him you'll find peace of mind, while eternity awaits. 

 

by Sarah Olowo.

The Beginning

Hey,

Welcome to the ACS webpage!

Here you’ll be able to find out about what’s going on in our society, the events taking place and what projects we are working on. We’ll also be including articles from members of our society about topics pertaining to the African & Caribbean cultures – the arts, literature, current affairs etc.

Our ACS is like none other in that our vision is to not only succeed, because sucess is inevitable, but to infuse the next generation of young people from Afro -Caribbean descent with the tools necessary for building lives that are both influential, prominent and instrumental in affecting individuals from all walks of life. Our ACS hosts future leaders and visionaries for generations to come.

We hope that you are excited and as passionate about the future of ACS as we are; 2011 -2012 is going to be an amazing one.

See you soon,

Lots of love,
Sinead & Sarah (Pres & Vice)
xxx