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THE SLAVE MOTHER

Good afternoon.

I can tell by the way you're looking at me, that you don't know who I am. I am called The African Slave Mother. I am called such because all slaves of Africa which were brought to this country are my children. Their descendants, who are the Black people of today, are my children, also.

I came here today from across the Great Divide of Time, because I am told that my children have forgotten their History. I am told that they are in trouble. I am told that they are in grave danger of losing their heritage.

Therefore, like any mother whose children are in trouble, I have raced to their side. I have come to remind them, and inform ALL others, of the PROUD culture from which they sprang.

Further, I believe that if a people don't know where they have been, they cannot determine where it is, they should go; and they certainly cannot know how to get there.

There are those who would have them believe that they are inferior to them; and that simply is not so. I would like to tell you that though some of them bear a skin color which is different from others, and though some of them have hair which requires a little more care than others, they are still just as good as anyone, and there IS none better.

There are those who would believe that theirs is a heathenistic society; it is not. But rather the violence which some of them exhibit, is the frustration of a people who are forced to function in a society in which they must constantly struggle for acceptance.

But I will say to my children, despite all that you suffer; all which you are forced to endure; you still have a moral obligation to your forefathers, to yourselves and to the children of your future to restructure your family units; to reclaim your children from the debilitating grasp of the drugs and the violence of the streets which now corrode their beings.

I say this, because, If their forefathers met slavery, the most dehumanizing condition of all times, head on and overcame it; they should be able to meet the most despicable conditions of their time, drugs and violence, and overcome them, as well. Their very existence depend upon their doing so.

The blood which now run through their veins, is the blood of those which founded empires and built nations. They are descended from Kings and Queens; Builders and Artisans; Metal Workers, Warriors and Navigators.

This nation was built upon the backs of their forefathers; their blood was spilled upon these lands; their sorrowful moans and pitiful cries are embodied in the songs they sang, so long ago, and can still be heard throughout this Universe.

My sons have held patents on telephone systems, steam tables, air ships, street sweepers, elevators, pencil sharpeners, egg beaters, lanterns, lawn sprinklers, fountain pens, anti air craft guns and typewriting machines. One son performed the world's first successful heart operation; another stopped a small pox epidemic using a method of inoculation brought from the Homeland, Africa; yet another perfected a means of preserving and shipping blood plasma and died in need of a blood transfusion, because of the color of his skin; still another moved us into the space age when he developed the first moon based space observatory carried aloft by Apollo 16.

But it was my baby, Martin Luther King, Jr. who stood in front of Washington's monument and told the world about his dream. His was a dream of a Nation living together in peace and harmony and he urged people of all colors and nationalities to work together to preserve that dream.

Yes, he stirred the fire in the souls of his brothers and sisters; straightened their backs, squared their shoulders and gave them hope. And tonight, as I reflect back to the day that he was struck down, in the prime of his life, I want to tell you, my children, on that day, the Universe cried, and an entire nation hung its head in shame for five whole days. For his removal was such that it sent a wave of shock through the very essence of the total being of all those residing upon the face of this earth.

I will soon have to leave you, but before I leave, I would like to leave this message with you. Though they have gained their freedom from traditional slavery, many of them have lost that freedom to a new kind of slavery.

They have joined the ranks of all people, and are now systematically being enslaved by the use of substances which leave brains massive rotting, useless hulks of tissue with self destruction as its only reward.

This, is not the legacy bequeathed by any of your forefathers. I would like you to know that each time you snort intoxicating powders; or plunge a needle into the veins which carry the blood of kings and queens; each time you cold bloodedly gun down, rape plunder or mutilate another of your brothers and sisters, those of us who peer from across the Curtain of Time, hold our heads in shame; and the cries and moans of your great ancestors become so intense that they rock the very foundations of existence.

So you see, my children, ours is not a pleasant history, and though we forefathers were shamefully forced upon this land wearing chains, and forced to live in despicable conditions; the shame of it is not ours, but that of their captors. The banner of your forefathers should be hoisted high and wave in dignity, pride and glory. Not pride for their enslavement, but Pride for their strength and perseverance to overcome slavery. For that is their legacy to all my children. It is one of which all people should be exceedingly proud.

I don't plan to keep you here any longer. They say my time is up. I thank you for allowing me to be here today to share in your celebration of a proud and dignified History. Now, I shall again return across that Great Divide of Time.