Spoken word by the spiritual poet

I was asked to join a panelist of speakers to discuss what it means to metaphorically remove our mask in the workplace, to expose what really matters most to us during this time of social injustice and heightened unrest in our everyday lives. Because they can only see and perceive what we present to them as our reality, oftentimes we present the perception of a superhuman that is unbreakable, unshakable, and display no signs of waywardness, weariness, or weakness. As a poet, I chose to write about our skin as our mask and what it means to us.

“We Have Been Asked To Remove Our Mask“

We have been asked to remove our mask. This ask is not for the fainthearted as our mask is a dominant distinction between us and the glorious races who grace creation’s heaven, earth, sky, and seas. This mask is inextricably, inherently, and inseparably a part of who we are. To remove our black mask is to remove the signature skin that is soldered to the DNA of our soul. To remove our black mask is to remove the black birthmark and birthright celebrated by kin and clan at birth’s sight, and to remove our black mask is to remove the honorable heredity from our heritage and history. As the sable smooth-skinned people of the sun, we are unapologetically proud of our black mask. Therefore, we will not sell, we will not barter, and we will not dilute our birthmark to achieve whiteness and acceptance by naturalization and assimilation through misinterpretation, misinformation, and miseducation to qualify us as human at the table of “nation-races”. Nevertheless, despite all this and more, we have been asked to remove our mask.