Derrion Thompson from Bethel Lighthouse has kindly written a poem entitled Proud to Be as part of Black History Month. The video and transcript can be found below.
Proud to be. I'm proud of my heritage.
I'm proud of my people and their history
with a past of royalty and inventions
and a present of influence and creativity.
I'm proud to see strength,
to be surrounded by black excellence
and to see those in deserving places in authority
and being acknowledged of their intelligence.
I'm proud of our range, that we come in every shade.
I'm proud of our hair and its kinks and the way our curls stay.
I'm proud of the way that we walk, even if we've been told to step down,
that we continue in love and hold onto our crown.
And I stay proud of our resilience that we never give up,
that even through hardships, we find laughter
and a love that you cannot disrupt.
I'm proud that our gifts and abilities influence every industry,
that we could come over to a country and contribute to its growth and stability.
The pursuit of full unity lies in one love and one heart.
I'm proud to be of people who grew on the art of work and are themselves a work of art.