1863 The Emancipation Proclamation
1955 I will not change my seat
1963 Thousands marching for what they believe
1920 Harlem screams “We have a new beat”
2008 Welcome President Obama
1954 Separate is not equal
1963 I have a dream
History is not linear.
And without diversity, there is no true history
Because history is a tangle of events
That go in and out of existence
Becoming current when in the consciousness of someone’s mind
And going extinct when the world stops thinking about them.
This begs the questions,
Is history part of yesterday, or today?
Diversity is key to unraveling history.
Because like Philomela,
Those who’ve lost their tongue to speak
Are left with the duty of weaving the past
The world tries to hide.
And if we hide our past,
Our victories lose significance.
This victory is that it is 2016
The world is not colorblind!
We see the shades and flaws and beauty of humans,
As diverse and interconnected as the shades of a sunset.
No, we are not colorblind,
But we are learning to embrace the palette of humanity with open arms.
Like Martin Luther King Jr said,
“We must live together as brothers or perish together as fools.”
And we are learning.
(Amanda McPherson performed this piece for HCC’s Martin Luther King Jr. Diversity Celebration on January 18, 2016.)