Where's My Liberation Gone?

emanuel-martinez Poems

500 years of conquest 500 years of oppression 500 years of struggle 500 years of resistance 500 years of globalization 500 years of plundering 500 years of capitalism I am a child, of the children, of the masses Rising from Latin America Of the and in alliance with...the oppressed of the world White brothers and sisters haven't you seen your chains, too? Because us colored children have long forgotten ours But I'm tired of the chains...searching...where's my liberation gone? Afro-Caribbean Afro-Latino African American African Indigenous Asian Middle Eastern My people of color Why can't we come together Because we continue to be lied to We continue to be denied We continue to be subjugated To the fact that we are subordinate To something that is not us That we are devoid That we are empty That we are workers and masters With no mind or soul We are the people without license No legitimate place, in the periphery Outside the margins A threat to the safety of societies Always the other, never part of we within discourses We are the black slaves In your blood and heritage Caribbean children Your negation of us has been your ploy to secure your servitude to white supremacy in exchange for your economic stability. We are the indigenous That harvested and nurtured these beautiful Americas Pests of conquest, you exploited our black brethren because we were not suitable for your exploitation. Instead you massacred us. Ever since confusing us with your mestizaje fodder. We are the peasants, the servants, the broken families, the broken communities, the displaced peoples, we are the casualties, we are the unmitigated collateral damage: Of revolutions, of wars, of conquests, of western civilization, of capitalism, of profit, of misanthropy We are Trayvon Martin, we are the 25 million families affected by Texas decision on abortion, we are the masses being left out by the recent reversal of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, we are the LGBT binational couples fighting for our rights, we are the undocumented community in solidarity asking TO BRING THEM HOME, we are the Brazilians demanding to be heard over the government's preoccupation with the preparations for the world cup, we are the everyday poor and homeless From our peripheral places we are the ones that resist because otherwise we will die. We are the ones that cannot afford to oppress anyone, because we are the most oppressed Living in a system that pushes even those who are the most oppressed to mimic the system's usage of oppression When there's no one else to oppress, still being aware of ourselves, we try My Latin American brethren don't tell me that Haiti's silenced past does not pertain to you They fought for the universal rights of everyone, doesn't that include you? And because of that its revolutionary past has been dismantled within history discourses So that other colored children of the world like you would not dream to resist their own oppression My Latin American and Caribbean brethren stop negating your blood, culture, history...Don't you see it has been deliberately silenced so that you cannot understand yourself? Because to understand yourself, is to love yourself, is to realize the potential of you, is to resist anything that doesn't allow you to be you African, and indigenous historical actors laid down their lives so that you could exist The puddle that formed out of the rivers of indigenous and black blood is all red. Isn't that enough for you to understand that our oppression is tied, that we must defend each other. Our tool against oppression is not money or guns. The greatest fortress of the oppressed is our mind. History is our weapon. Our histories are powerful Granting us consciousness Giving us bravery Dispelling lies and shattering the silencing of our power. Let us nurture our colored children to love their histories That they may understand the common experience of oppression of the masses the world over That they will be ready and able and accountable To the continued act of resistance of the oppression of any human being. We are the ones that cannot afford to rely on ourselves, we are the vulnerable ones, we are the ones with targets on our backs, we are the ones in constant threat, we are the beautiful middle eastern peoples being targeted as terrorists and extremists, we are the poor with undiagnosed PTSD, we are the undocumented parents and adults with lost dreams, we are the inner city kids who have been lost to drugs, crime, and STDS, we are the ones that let others decide our rights We are ones that must form alliances with each other, we are the ones that find strength in numbers, we are the ones that need allies in positions of privilege, we are the ones that must create the revolution through the power of our minds, not the wars, tool of the oppressors. We are the hopes and the dreams that have faded from our parents, and grandparents, we are the revolutions that never came for the slaves, the servants, and the peasants of our heritage We are the most dangerous obstacle to oppression. Dormant in us is the promise of the liberation I've lost.