THE TRUE BLACK MAN
I am the son of a black man
I grew up in a typical African traditional community
A community where every elderly person was seen as a parent
A community where the needs of one person was a major concern to all
I was brought up in a friendly environment
I was nurtured in the ways of my forefathers
I was trained with the rod
I was raised to fear and respect the elderly
I ate from bowls and drank from cups made of clay
I danced to music played with instruments carved out of wood
I dressed in Kente cloth and wore amulets that bear the blessings of the gods
I witnessed both the beautiful and terrible part of the African culture
I dined with the gods and ate from the hands of mother earth
I took part in rituals that invoked the protection of the gods
I am a true descendant of the black man
Now I am a stranger in a different land
I am far from home and the land of my folks
Here I am seen as an alien
I sleep at the corners of the streets
I hide in the shadows to avoid being spotted
I move from place to place in search of a better job
I work harder yet I earn just a little
Much of what I earn are used to pay for my stay
My income is small but my taxes are huge
My greatest problem is discrimination
I am seen as a threat to the people
I am perceived as a lion from the wild
Yet I am proud of my descent
People mock and make fun of me
They gave me all kinds of names
Yet I have always gathered the courage to fight back
I am always motivated by my sense of descent
In this land my children are segregated
They struggle to fit into society
These have led to a complete change in their attitude
They are the stubborn ones among the crowd
They are the drug dealers on the streets
Most of them struggle with pain and addiction
As a result they are abused and maltreated
Most of them are in the prisons and rehabilitation centers
The only thing that keeps them alive is their strong will to survive
What they do not know is that they are foreigners in a strange land
This is what I will not do
I will not tell them to come back to the land of their birth
I will not tell them to desist from their habits
I will not tell them to deny their identity
I will not tell them not to resist their oppressors
This is what I will tell them in the language of their forefathers
"A lion can never change its skin to become a tiger"
I will tell them about the culture of their forefathers
I will tell them about the beautiful festivals and melodious songs
I will tell them about the beautiful way of dressing of their forefathers
I will then leave them to decide
I will let them decide to live abroad as black men or to return home as true black men
I will finally return back home to the land of my birth
Written by Anthony Amoah Essah