In every corner where shadows fall,
Across vast lands where memories call,
People were taken, held in place,
In every corner, every race.

Not just one, nor just one shore,
But everywhere, a hidden war,
Spanning ages, fields, and tides,
Human worth and dreams denied.

From Africa’s shores to Asia’s plains,
To islands bound by unseen reins,
From Europe’s cold to deserts wide,
Countless souls robbed of their pride.

They called it power, named it might,
But it was nothing but darkened light—
A brutal weight, a cruel disguise,
Of fear dressed up in human lies.

They broke apart mothers, fathers, kin,
Tried to claim the soul within,
But roots grow deep, and hearts will rise,
Even through the darkest skies.

Today we honor each whispered name,
Every struggle, each hidden flame.
For holds have broken, barriers torn,
And in their place, new strength is born.

To those who bore the weight untold,
Who carried pain, whose courage bold
Paved the way for lives made whole,
They teach us of the human soul.

Let us be teachers, let us be wise,
Help those who turn away realize
That true power’s found not in the hand,
But in the dignity of every land.

Every face, every color, every creed,
Born to rise, to laugh, to lead.
And may the past keep us awake,
So never again shall freedom break.

No race, no person should bow in fear,
We rise together, our vision clear—
A world with room for every voice,
In freedom’s song, we find our choice.