They will deny that we are the true creators…
Often imitated but never duplicated…
This countries growth and economy didn’t start out the blue…
We are the black print of this U.S. Global leadership…
Our history proves it to you…
It wasn’t a favor…
Our enslaved people were forced to produce black labor…
Cheap workforces made for America by mass incarcerations…
Is just their way of updating plantations through discriminations…
We evolved their Industries, and agriculture…
And yet, in today’s world we’re still considered unqualified by the same culture vultures…
But we will always appreciate the contributions of our enslaved people…
We went from slavery to bravery…
They’ve always fought to make a way…
Bargaining, strikes, and activism came into play…
We’re still fighting for those working conditions, wages, and equal rights to this day!
We built this country’s infrastructure, there was no other!
No visual shackles and chains today but economic racism still causes us to suffer…
We just want to be treated equally and get paid appropriately but apparently, we can’t have both…
Our people were wage owners,and sharecroppers…
Success always came from our own growth…
We were always educated and adaptive…
Black labor in this oppressive nation could never sabotage our celebration…
Of life…
Of rights…
Of our skin…
Every weekend…
We set up sugar shacks to escape the segregation through celebration…
Saturday nights conversation during the emancipation…
A sweet space where we celebrate and appreciate what our ancestors has done for us…
Jim Crow hate that they can’t create what we elevate…
They not like us…
Juke joints stationed for slaves to socialize…
In abandoned buildings and private houses that you wouldn’t even realize…
These informal gathering places are safe spaces…
To remind us how important our race is…
How gifted our race is…
How loving our race is…
Unlike a racist…
Partying the pain away while praying for a brighter day…
Spreading the news through blues…
Live music that will lift your spirits…
A brown skin band that your emotions understands…
Songs sung straight into your soul…
Sipping drinks of sensations while watching dance creations…
Toe tapping rhythm and beautiful women…
Soul food filling your heart and stomach with joy from the kitchen…
Everyone all dressed to impress…
An escape from poverty knowing our worth is priceless…
Because we are truly the best…
A place where you can be reflective as you grow with the black artists collective…
Life’s already a gamble so play to win…
It’s an atmosphere of education, excitement, and ambition…
Where equality always been the mission…
Black culture will always be about joy and community as long as we never lose sight of our unity…
We will never bow down to the hegemony…
Our ancestors opened our eyes so we can see the divinity…
– Ricky “Randum” Maeweather
Ricky Maeweather 