African Beats, African Beats, African Beats, can u hear those African beats Im having sleepless nights, nightmares with meanings of life, waking up in cold sweats my heart is pounding and it goes Boom Boom and its goes faster Boom Boom and faster Boom Boom. And I begin to get weak and the sound of drums ring off in my ear like an alarm clock and its loud and it gets louder and louder every min and I start to lose it and I scream ( stopppppppppppp) ! Tossing and turning in my bed I feel scared the beats show me a pregnant woman who was beaten to shreds. Then I see slaves in shackles and were tackled by the white slaves masters who thought they were nothing but senseless disgusting cattle’s . The beats get louder and I see my forefathers with chains around their neck fifty lashes to their chest with demands that if they don’t shut up and work their children are next. The beats get louder and I cry stopppppppppppp!!!! , but instead all I see is an old crippled man working on a cotton field with dreams of being free to go and he sings very loudly let my people go. Then I heard him sing ‘’ Wait in the water, wait in the water children, wait in the water God is gonna trouble the waters’’. O what a sight to see black African people not being free, then the beats show me a family of three who was brutally murdered because they decided it was time for freedom of speech. African beats, African Beats, African Beats can u hear those African Beats, Yes drum beats I can hear you, but why do you trouble me so, why do you make my heart so weak with tears I have to know? Why do you show me such horrifying images, what are you trying to say i just want you to leave me alone and go away. Why were black people treated so bad, why were these white people so mad? Why did they take black people from the motherland and ship them away to be so sold like gold, why did they tear families apart that’s so cold? Africans beats I beg of u please leave me alone whatever your trying to say I get the picture Black African people have come a long long way. Black people have come so far that we should be proud of where we are today. We should be proud that were even allowed to pray. We should be proud that our ancestors fought for our rights and though it was never easy they didn’t give up without a fight. We should be proud that Martin luther King Jr had a dream and saw us 20 , 30 years later not living in shame. We should be proud that our ancestors were so brave they had a hard life but it surely paid off one day. Beats I hear your message and it’s very clear I am black and proud to be here.
Written by- Shakela Storr
This poem is about the struggles of Black African History where we use to be and where we are today. Enjoy