raised in the Land of the Free.
I once thought that 14 changed everything.
That petalite and andalusite are both precious gems
that the Law of the Free was ready to defend.
Tell me why despite 14’s existence,
Black Codes persisted,
segregation thrived.
They did everything in and out of their right
to make sure that people like me forgot they were the Free.
But we never forgot.
Protest after protest after protest.
Riot after outrage after rebellion.
We lost millions of innocent lives
in the name of wanting to survive
When the Free says “I have a dream,” they deserve success.
When the Free says “Nah” that isn’t the time to arrest.
We’ve been used as bait and have been beaten.
Hosed down and shackled up just for existing.
Pepper sprayed and handcuffed for being inconvenient.
Systems have been put in place to put us in lesser positions.
They’ve trickled down and are affecting
the present day more than some are admitting.
And as if to salt the wound,
the number of brave souls whose names were lost--
were marginalized and spat on.
In the Land of the Free, there is no rest.
Too many loopholes to keep them oppressed.
The Law of the Free
never cared for the Free.
But the Free do not relent, they never have.
For centuries, scholars, innovators, regular people
have stood up on soapboxes and shouted,
“We will be free.”
And whether the Land or the Law knows it,
we know it.
13, 14, 15
Brown v. Board of Education
Civil Rights Act, Crown Act
Slowly but surely, the Free are declaring their freedom.
The Free are claiming their god-given right to exist in peace.
The Free reminds me that when I see a person who looks just like me
being denied freedom on national T.V.
It is the Law that is wrong.
So despite being born in the Land of the Rising Sun,
I can grow up in the Land of the Free.
And Chukwu tells me that my andalusite skin shines as bright as anyone else’s.
My features and my culture are as valid
and are as embraceable as anyone else’s.
And there is strife in this world, yes.
There is injustice, there is pain, there are things the Law must do,
that the Law has decided not to.
The Land of the Free moves slowly, but it moves,
and when it wants to relapse, the Free scream for the truth.
And that’s what they will continue to do until serenity is achieved.
And if that turns out to be never then so be it,
but the Free will be free.
We’ve come so far in a few centuries,
in a few more, imagine how much farther we could be.
This poem is especially important to me as it was written around the time I discovered Odinani.
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