For two-hundred and forty-six long years
Slavery was legal in the U.S..
We came before the Mayflower got here.
Forced bondage spurred America’s success.
An economy fueled by slave labor
Had my ancestors sold on auction blocks.
How could “good Christian” men rape their neighbors
And trade humans like live stock?
But bull whips didn’t leave the only scars.
Massah’s legacy wasn’t complexion.
Of course, our pasts influence who we are.
But they don’t determine disconnections.
History explains why we bitch and moan
From Post Traumatic Slavery syndrome.
Keith M. Kelley | Poet 