There would not be any United States of America if it wasn’t for Black people.
From the moment the first ships docked to shore in Hampton, Virginia (1619),
To the final seconds of that fateful morning above the hills in Calabasas, Los Angeles,
Black stories have constituted American history since before it was a Union, and continue to do so to this day.
In Los Angeles, where would we be without our Black icons?
8:24, Nipsey Hussle, Tupac Amaru Shakur, Angela Yvonne Davis; that’s just the beginning.
We recognize their voices as we open this Mic,
But we also recognize:
Black mothers,
Black fathers,
Black brothers,
Black sisters,
Black grandmothers,
Black grandfathers,
Communities in Historic South Central,
In Compton and Watts.
From Long Beach, to Inglewood,
To Leimert Park, West Adams, and beyond.
We recognize:
Black custodians,
Black bus drivers,
Black shopkeepers,
Black cooks,
Black healers,
Black teachers,
Black artists,
Black authors,
And especially
Black poets.
In the words of
Langston Hughes,
Who would also come
To greet sunny Los Angeles:
‘I too,
Sing America.’
We too
Will sing!
Now,
Let’s get this
Open Mic going.
J.T.