It's a celebration! There's even a GMA special,
A national holiday! But what of my rights--To vote? To learn history? To not be lynched?
Parting gifts are usually given to someone who is leaving;
Where would I go? Can I buy my own parcel and acres in Georgia?
Juneteenth, or June Nineteenth; a familiar holiday in the South
Or a book written by Ralph Ellison, author of the Invisible Man
We get an extra day off from work;
In observance of all of these institutions and corporations
that say they are committed to antiracism;
and add antiracism trainings,
Yet struggle to recruit Black or Brown senior leadership;
Have a history of retaliating against employees who speak up
present no real plan for addressing these issues
other than a black square, rainbow colors, green money,
We get the day as a gift; for all the lives lost
from COVID, Tulsa, Rosewood, Chicago, Charleston
Hard to social distance if we're the ones who toil; work; cook; clean
live in multigenerational homes, work in packing warehouses
Hey, let's find a cookout to eat, dance, sing away sorrows with Al Green;
Play spades, dominoes or economic war games
To entertain ourselves; to maybe live another day;
While others scramble to colonize Mars;
Knowing time is up for Mother Earth
Hard to run if you are Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, or
Or....maybe it's time out for symbolism and metaphors.
Maybe it's time..
--M. Cowherd
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