My son, you were not born a slave
You are enslaved by White people
You ask why? Let me tell you, it’s not your fault
We all are God’s creatures but Whites own us

But Papa, how can a human being
own another fellow human?
Aren’t we all God’s children?
Is all men are equal just a slogan?

See my son, It is not that simple
not every word spoken tells the truth
Words have selective meaning
Some apply only to a selected few

So Papa, why doesn’t it apply to us?
Since you ask my son I will tell you
We are Blacks brought to this
place as slaves – property of White Masters

Why don’t we run away?
Aha, a good question
Because of slave catchers or
what Whites call the police.

Runaways are treated worse than stray dogs
Beaten, starved, locked up in isolation
Breaks my heart to say don’t even try
Life as a dutiful slave, while not good in itself,
still is much better than a runaway slave’s life
Trust me, your papa doesn’t want to see you as one

How did we end up here, Papa?
Son, you ask too many questions
Papa, sorry but I want to know, is that wrong?
No son it is not, ask me all you want

Our ancestors belong to Africa
A continent thousands of miles away
Our “brothers” trapped us and sold us
to slave traders for money,
yes son for money!

So they must have gotten tired walking
No son, there is an ocean in between
We were packed in ships as cargo
Shackled and chained; fed measly ration
Left to breathe in stench of our own feces
Many died but they were left down there
The whole area smelled off feces and dead bodies

Papa, you know a lot, I’m proud of you
Thank you son, I want to teach you what I know
You are my precious property
Though Whites will claim as theirs

One more thing, as you grow and become a man
Don’t mess around with White girls
White girls’ accusations, even false ones
Will become a cause for absolute punishment
I will defer discussion of how till you are grown up
I can describe it to you, but it is so grotesque
Let me just tell you it’s called lynching

Papa, every so many days our White masters
dress up and go somewhere
Please tell me where they go
Son, they go to a place of worship called church
Where priest preaches them the right and wrong
They worship Jesus Christ, their Lord and Savior

Why don’t we go?
Is Jesus Christ the lord of White people only?
No son, that’s not true
The book they read is Bible
It Doesn’t say church is for Whites only
but Whites use selective teachings from the book

I hope one day somebody will rise and proclaim that
Slavery is wrong and abolish it as a state policy
I can’t tell you when it is going to happen
All I can tell you is you have to have hope
Without hope a man is dead,
worse than a dead body

Son, I love you more than I love myself
I know one day they are going
to take you away from me
and sell it to the highest bidder
I will be left here to mourn in silence

I am sorry for going down this path
I want you to enjoy your life as a child
What happens tomorrow will happen
Regardless of what we do or we don’t.

Now give me a hug, my little darling!