Two of our young people – Jess Inaba and Terrelle Iziren – have written a piece of work each to celebrate Black History month this October.

You can also listen to Terrelle’s spoken word on Soundcloud by following this hyperlink. 

BLACK

By Jess I.

October 2020

Black is melanin, melanin a glow
Black is coyly, kinky, dreads, braids, afro
Black are your features, so perfect, unique
Black is exquisite, embrace your physique!

Black is a trophy that we never hide,
A suit of armour, we sport it with pride
Black runs beyond complexion of the skin,
It shapes and moulds a person from within.

Black defines unity, black is a shawl,
We wrap round our own to protect us all
Black can be struggle and black can be pain,
But black is success, we broke through the chains!

Black is “I have a dream”, our dream came true
Our legs were bound but we still ran and flew
Dig up our roots but can’t knock our tree down,
Raided our palace but can’t take our crown

We were dealt our cards, we’re still in the game,
King and queen of diamonds, royalty we claim
Triumph’s our destination so we drive
Singing the Song of Solomon one five!

Tell our story, take the pen, fill the page
Write our own script, take our place centre stage
Paint our picture in the richest colour,
Frame it in our forefathers grand valour!

In every heartbeat, in every footstep,
We find our purpose, with every drawn breath
No final straw will break our camel’s back,
Hold your heads up high because “black don’t crack!”

AN UFORGETTABLE HISTORY

By Terrelle I.

October 2020

LISTEN TO TERRELLE’S SPOKEN WORD HERE

New decade, same narrative,
The sound of human compassion drained out of politics,
The black youth of today, searching for inspirational representatives.
Yet whether it’s Blue Story, garage or drill – MPs only search for negatives.
In a problematic world where leaders build walls and fences,
As old stereotypes arise from warn out trenches.

Grown adults upset over the presence of slave trader statues,
The problem lies deep in Britain’s constitution,
Controversial laws, motivate younger generations to change the statutes,
But this doesn’t hide answers, today’s black youth expect from Parliament as a leading institution.
When pushing for a diverse curriculum,
That doesn’t teach throwaway facts, including how many wives Henry VIII had,
But the history of colonialism,
And how this impacted millions of people, immigrating from the Caribbean and India to France and Britain,
Battling colonial exploitation of cotton, to provide a better education for their children.

Leading to inequality and a generation determined to break it,
Being young and VI, having others doubt your dreams or whether you’ll make it,
The feeling of being underestimated, undermined, or even underrated,
It’s one thing to understand and another to relate.
But I took motivation from that to try and change the game.

2020 has shown there are no limits to creativity.
Months passed, time ticked and Tik-Tok demonstrated the power of change and diversity,
Having a voice despite not having full vision,
But dreaming of a vision, at the wheel, steering your decisions towards fulfilling your ambitions,
Should it matter if you’re a black person with albinism or have a visual-impairment?
Of course not, when your beats could unite nations as a music producer
Or your passion for equality could create laws in Parliament.

2020 has shown there are no limits to creativity,
With support from RSBC, uniting all backgrounds,
Spreading a message of positivity,
Coast to coast between UK cities and towns,
During a month to celebrate Black History.

Check out our RSBC social media channels for more posts about Black History Month over the rest of this month!!