African American poet and the first published African American woman. She empowered her
community through her writings and continues to make a literary impact in today's society. In honor
of Phillis Wheatley, I decided to adapt her poem "On Being Brought from Africa to America" to
fit current issues. The poem in the picture below is by Wheatley and I've placed my adaptation after
it.
On Injustice, From Being Sapped to Finding Liberation
‘Twas greed that shackled our ancestors hands and kidnapped them from the motherland
Ancestors who became slaves to white men and built this country by hand
150 years henceforth since abolition, yet I find my race still enslaved
Slaves to our vanity and also an unjust system
Thought the issue was the class system but it’s not so simple
Pain so great, yet the government silences the outcries
Young black men slain by police brutality as if it were hunting season
Yet no one will listen
The media paints us as ingrates to a just system
Brainwashing the mass into believing that the rioters are just thugs with no purpose nor mission
Remember the Boston Tea Party? Similar occurrences, yet its celebrated
Penny this thought…Riots wouldn’t occur unless injustices were taking place
Byproducts of the corrupt world we living in
Fates we can’t escape due to our tint but judging by society-our taint
Trying to keep faith but it’s hard seeing a better picture
Seeing Martin Luther King Jr’s vision skewed and twisted
God I beg for strength, young mothers praying that it’s not their son’s life today
Working hard but hardly living due to a middle class that’s shrinking
Undistributed wealth and sinking education in our inner cities with test based curriculums
Searching for a savior who sees past mere pigments
We were once great kings and queens, our answer is within
Christians, Negroes, with blood thick as Abel's, slain by Cain, we all can be refined with hopes
Of rightfully joining the angelic train!
-Danielle D. Rogers
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