If you ain't never been Black, Colored, Negro, Africa American, African, or been called worse, then disregard this notice......... Let me say As I begin I am proud of the skin That I am in Be it caramel, mocha, chocolate, or black Be we small, medium or large, tall skinny or fat I am proud of my heritage And "I am not giving my black back" Not to the white man, nor the pale man Not to anyone in fact I won't let anyone get me down, put me down, take away my self-esteem or push me around "I am not giving my black back" Who has inspired you to persevere thus far I'm inspired by my birthright By my heritage Above all Our God As I have said When I began I am proud of the skin that I am in I won't let prejudice or negativity hold me back I am solid, strong, poised, focused and proud, always keeping self worth intact I am not, I repeat I am not giving my black back There are many ways You can give it back If you don't hold to your values Remain focus and intact For Example: Rising high, Persevering You have become a star Putting your past behind you Hiding who you truly are To satisfy a mission, On the road to stardom and fame You gave up your black For a recyclable paper check With a stroke of a pen in hand As you are molded, bent, twisted and spent To the way of how they want you to be That's just another way in our modern day To willingly give in to slavery It's one thing to be focused; yet things are not clear It's another to willingly give up, what is so precious and dear The memories of you past Family values your parents instilled They are proud of where they came from, so why aren't you Can you feel their pain, can you see their tears It is good to persevere Just remember to keep your self worth and values intact Don't let anyone cloud your mind, or slow you down Don't let anyone hold you back Be honored and proud of who you are And never, I do mean never give your black back I am proud of who I am And the color of our skin The way we use our minds And with stand the test of time Yes! I can proudly say yes! I am proud to be black I would never trade my color or heritage I am not giving my black back Back to the people who enslaved us So many centuries ago Back to the people who tried to control us Who wouldn't let us build as a family and grow No! I am not giving up; I'm not standing still I am building a strong foundation in fact Our memories, our wisdom, our ways, our heart and soul This they could never take away, god kept our inner essence in tact Standing firm upon my beliefs, I am not, I am not giving my black back.
I'm not giving up my greens or my grits or saying "girl" and putting my hands on my hips. You see... Life for me ain't been no crystal stair and I'm not giving up Rosa Parks, Fannie Lou Hamner, Mary McCleod Bethune, Sojourner Truth, Madame C. J. Walker, Toni Morrison or Dr. Maya Angelou, 'cause you see, I am a phenomenal woman and I'm not giving my black back. I'm not giving up my crown, waves, braids, curls, locks, kinks, scarves or Muslim garb. I'm not giving up sitting in Ma's kitchen eating peach cobbler or sweet potato pie and hearing her ask me, "How you doing baby"? I'm not giving up going to "You Buy, We Fry" on Fridays, or bar-b-ques on Saturday playing Bid Wist and slammin' those dominoes. I'm not giving back Harriet Tubman's train, Soul Train, Coltrane or the midnight train to Georgia. Now, you can meet me at the function at the junction but I still won't give up B.B. King, the Whispers, Fancy Ms. Nancy, Lena Horne, the Philadelphia Sound, Motown or the Temptations. 'Cause you see, it's the way we do the things we do, like building the pyramids that still stand made by our forefathers' hands where the diamonds, oil, silver and gold are buried in our rich dark land. I'm not giving my black back! I'm happy being nappy with my wide hips and my wide nose and the rich melanin in my skin. I love putting lotion on my ashy legs. Oh, I'm happy being nappy and being in the skin that I'm in. I won't deny or forget my ancestors who lay in a wet grave at the bottom of the sea in the Middle Passage from slave trade. And I won't give up on our youth of today who still need a way made. I won't give back Miles even though he didn't smile. I won't give back Marvin Gaye, Richard Pryor, Phyllis Hyman, Billie Holiday or Billy Eckstein, Jackie Robinson or Jackie Wilson. I won't give back the electric slide, Alvin Ailey, Bojangles or Debbie Allen. You think I'd give up reading my Jet, Ebony, Essence, Emerge, Black Enterprise, Heart and Soul or Upscale magazines? For we are a colorful people. Like Curtis Mayfield sang, we are a people that are "darker than blue." We are honey, cinnamon, mahogany and chocolate. We are REDD Fox, James BROWN, Barry WHITE, The Mothers of the Church dressed in WHITE, The Color PURPLE, the Lady Who Sings the BLUES and we are Al GREEN with love and happiness. Oh, NO... I'm not giving my black back! I'm not giving back Maxine (Waters), Martin, Medgar, Malcolm, Mandela, Marley, Marcus, Muhammad Ali, Michael (Jordan) or the Million Man March. I'm not giving my black back! Author: Unknown
