Advocating Freedom

As we celebrate Black History Month, I can’t help but think about those who fought for freedom and equality; those who spent their lives advocating freedom. I think of Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, Martin Luther King, Paul Bogle of Jamaica, Desmond Tutu of South Africa, and countless others who sought a better world of justice and equity. It is no doubt that the Creator guided these leaders. Some of the things they accomplished were without doubt direct interventions from the Almighty.

What’s even more evident of Providence guiding these freedom fighters, is their acknowledegment of Him when they spoke. They knew they were being led by a higher power and they attributed their passion and deliverance to Him.  

His angels, be they heavenly or other human beings who aided the conductors on the Underground Railroad, certainly guided Harriet Tubman all the way to Canada and helped her in guaranteeing freedom for many.

The very name Sojourner Truth, and her reason for taking on that name seems divinely inspired. She knew her God-given purpose, that she was but a sojourner on this Earth, and her commitment to truth reflected her last name. She went around preaching the word of God and lobbying for equal rights.

These freedom fighters were all worshippers of the true and living God, who would have no pleasure in any of His creative beings being held captive or treated as second-class.  Truly, we serve a God of justice.

Paul Bogle was a deacon who led the Morant Bay Rebellion. He was hung for fighting for freedom and equality on behalf of the oppressed in Jamaica.    

Dr. Martin Luther King the firebrand preacher, who we celebrate every year for his work as a civil rights leader, seasoned his preaching with Biblical allusions. His words expressed the unequivocal existence of a God of justice, seeking the same for His created beings.

Desmond Tutu’s spearheading of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission helped to end the inhumane regime of apartheid in South Africa.

Celebrate Freedom Fighters

There are so many other leaders that have come to mind as I write this post, but time would not allow me to mention everyone. We celebrate these leaders and others unmentioned, those who changed history. We celebrate our history and retell our stories because if we don’t, those stories will get swept under the rug and one day people might start saying those things never happened, and what’s worse, people will actually believe them.  

Our Glorious Past
by Queen Majeeda

There was a time when we walked this Earth 
With such glory, such dignity
We were in our own land
And we were kings and queens,
princes and princesses.
We held our heads high,
We were noble,
a royal nation.
Ours was a land civilized,
So civilized we rule with each other
And not over each other.
There was religious liberty,
In the land of nobility
Until the raiders came
And forced unto us
What they called Christianity
But it was idolatry.
And our history?
We wrote our own history
And told our own stories.
It was as we lived it.
We gave civilization this world
We gave Art, Science and Literature too
But what have we gotten in return?
In return we were robbed,
We fell into the hands of thieves
And they hold today what we had yesterday.
This exchange was not our plan
Why did we become servants when we rulers
Why is a stranger now our master?
Remember now our history
Way, way beyond slavery.
Remember now, lest we forget.
Don't say the Middle Passage journey 
Was too horrifying and long
To remember where we're coming from
And thinking ourselves as mere descendants of slaves
Forgetting the legacy our ancestors gave. 
A culture so rich was to be passed on
To Africa's children, 
Heirs to the many thrones
So many kingdoms yet we were not divided,
The land was ours, the food and the resources it provided. 
Medical Science and Astronomy
Were all part of that legacy
This is where our roots lie
In things noble and dignified
We have to go back to our roots
Find out for ourselves 
What is truth?
We no longer accept your lies
Bury them because the truth must rise
A civilized nation did not come and find a nation of savages
Savages instead came and found a civilized nation
And stole what we had for documentation
But they could not destroy our oral tradition.
We've found what we have lost
What was lost was stolen,
The history of our glorious past
We've found it
And now we reclaim it, 
It's ours!

© 1996