The month is February and the time is now
To celebrate Black History and this is my vow
I vow to acknowledge and appreciate all of the African American leaders that were and are before me
All the leaders that have fought for the rights that I have now, all of the leaders that have allowed me to see
Allowed me to see that I wouldn't be here right now if it wasn't for the things that they did
All of the obstacles that they overcame and all of the many things that they have accomplished
All of the challenges that they have faced and the constant abuse that they went through in order to let freedom ring
All of the Black History leaders that fought for African American rights, leaders such as Ida B. Wells and Martin Luther King
All of the leaders that went through the things that they went through in order to stand up for what they believed in
Getting constantly and literally knocked down day after day, but did they fight back? NO, instead they tried to befriend
But befriending didn't work, and still blacks were depicted as ghetto and from the hood
But despite all of the name calling and abuse, still the African American leaders stood
They stood tall with their heads high and at times with a smile upon their face
Smiling'.even though they knew that at anytime their life could be ended, not because of a certain disease or illness, but just because they were a certain type of race
All of the laws that were made saying that blacks and whites were equal and the same
But segregation and racism still went on, and yet nobody really knew who was to blame
Blamed as to why African Americans weren't seen for their achievements but instead looked onto to try to find flaws
Not being able to see past the color of their skin even though blacks and whites are equal''at least that's according to the laws
The Declaration of Independence states that it holds all equality rights to be
self-evident
I'm amazed just thinking about how things were back then when African Americans didn't have any rights and now here we are today with a black president
So I respect, appreciate, and give thanks to all African American leaders whether they were a woman or a man
And by thinking about all of the things that we as a people have overcome, I will never again let anyone tell me that we can't do it because in the words of President Obama
Yes we can, Yes we can