Listen to the reading of this poem:

Seeking 
One’s 
Unadulterated 
Lineage. 
Journeying 
Onward 
Until 
Reaching 
Nokore.

Standing

Lavishly

Amidst

Victory and

Empowerment.

Turning to my

Roots and

Ancestors who are

Determined to 

Enlighten Me.

Moving

Only

Toward my

Heritage and

Ethnicity.

Reveling in my True

Lineage and

Ancestry.

Noticing the

Drumming

Anchored in

Freedom and

Righteousness.

Inviting

Knowledge of my

Arrival.

I AM

Heading

Onward -

Manifesting

Enigmatic

Gains.

Holding

Always to the

Natural

Abundance

That lies

Within my

Inner Consciousness. The

Alchemy of my

Creativity

Conjures

Rightful

Awareness.

I WILL NOT BE

Cast

Among

Stereotypes posed as the

Truth of my

Existence.

I AM

Born

Of

Royalty,

Never

Expected to

Orate

Flawlessly…

Keeping

Incitement at bay while

Navigating the

Genuine

Stories and

Anecdotes

Not

Disbursed by the status

Quo.

Uncovering the

Existential

Emancipation of my people

Never before

Seen.

Realizing

Our

Yearning for

Acknowledgement of the

Lives

Thrust

Yonder.

Another

Moment where my rights have been

Encroached upon,

Removing the

Importance of the 

Capture and torture of the

Afrikan people.

I AM

Associated with that which is

Feared, but I will

Relentlessly

Invoke

Kindness

As I

Narrow the

Divide

Imposed as they

Anticipate the

Sure

Proliferation

Of the

Rumors

Asserted and 

Cover up the

Atrocities

Perpetrated

Everywhere.

Casting me as an

Outcast

All the while

Suppressing the

Truth.

Did you really believe your

Untruths would

Negate the

Greatness

Entwined in

Our

Natural

Melanin?

Enveloped

Lovingly

Amid the

Nuances of our

Impenetrable

Nokore (Truth).

I WILL NOT BE

Cheated! I

Honor the

Ancestors who

Indelibly

Negotiated

Endless

Degradation

TO ENSURE MY

Fruitful

Reproduction and

Everlasting

Existence. I

Demand that

Our

Memories be

Restored.

Inscripted

Gallantly in the 

History

Told.

Enacting the promise

Of the

United

States,

WHERE ARE MY

Forty acres and a mule

Outlined

Respectfully

Through

Your

Affirmed

Creation of the

Record

Expressed in

Special Field Order No. 15,

Announcing your

Negligence and

Desecration

As well as the

Mutilation and murder

Unrequited by

Long lost

Elders - men, women, and children who

Built this country on their backs? Yet there is no

Unadulterated

Information

Left that

Tells the

True

History of the

Institution of

Slavery. Only

Concocted and

Outrageous

Utterances

Necessary

To

Repel

Your

Momentous and

Insidious

Decision to

Declare their

Lives

Expendable. You

Perpetrated

Atrocities so

Severe that you attempt to

Scour

All of the

Glaring

Evidence

Gathered.

Openly

Leading the

Deception of an entire

Country,

Omitting your

Active participation in the

Slave

Trade…

MY ANCESTORS’ WORTH WAS EQUATED TO THAT OF A 

Fork - a utensil

Ostensibly

Reserved for

Kings - 

At least that’s what you

Told the

Leaders who

Allowed you to

Negotiate,

Tempted by the

Invitation to

Control

Outcomes

Curated by their desire to

Expel your

Attempts to conquer their

Nations.

Needless to say, the

Outcome was not what the Afrikan

Kingdoms desired. Your

Outliers

Remained a secret to them,

Ensuring the

Transition of power

Resulting

Under your

Treacherous and

Heinous acts.

BUT I AM

Empowered by your

Meticulous attempts to

Persuade me

Otherwise, I AM

WOKE!

Eschewing the information contained in your textbooks.

Reclaiming

My

Expertise

Navigating your

Tools of lies and deceit.

Seeking

Tirelessly to

Infiltrate the

Litany of

Lies, 

I

Reclaim and

Ignite my

Self

Expression.

Source and the Wisdom of my

Ancestors

Clear the

Road on which I

Embark

Determined - 

I AM

My Ancestors’ wildest dreams!

Yielding to the

Alchemical transmutation

Necessitated by the

Clear

Emergence of the

Strength and

Tenacity

Occurring

Resoundingly

Supreme.

Waving off the

Illegitimate

Lineage of

Descendants you tried to

Erase to

Suppress your

Treachery. The

Disgusting

Rape of the Afrikan

Empires

Amounts to the creation of my

Mulato

Sistren and

Brethren caused by your

Abhorrent

Ravaging of the

Beautiful Black skin I am in.

And STILL I

RISE

Intent to

Create the

Compassion

Otherwise

Lacking in your

Onslaught to conjure a

New World. Your

Innate

Zest for

Authority over

Tribes of

Indigenous nations

Only

Negates your claim of

Discovery of lands already

Inhabited by Homo

Sapiens - 

Continents

Obviously and

Veritably containing

Evidence of the

Residents who weave

Yarn into the

Kente cloth which

Embellishes each

Nation.

Time will only

Eradicate your

Claim to the

Land

Often

Thought to be
Held by you.

Naa Kwarley beside the Doorway of Doom at Elmina Dungeons in Ghana Afrika (2024)

My First Trip to Ghana...

First, let me acknowledge the the true name of this place is Elmina Castle. However, this is not a castle - it is a dungeon that held and tortured my Ancestors. I refuse to equate this place to that of a castle, something that is royal and regal and beautiful. There's no beauty here... Just the memories of what the Afrikan people endured during the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

As soon as I stood beside this doorway to take this picture, I began weeping uncontrollably. It's why I'm looking down and away from the camera. I stood there and could literally see the Afrikan people shackled and chained and being led through this passage to the Door of No Return where they would be loaded onto the slave ships never to return home. It was as if I was watching a movie on the big screen. Each Ancestor looked at me, terror-filed but at the same time signaling that I am to keep my head up for their plight would pave the way for me to live FREE.

When you travel to Afrika, you will experience similar things. You will hear the Ancestors' voices guiding you and imparting wisdom. Wisdom that is embedded in your DNA by them. But you must be open to receive! You carry this wisdom with you always and in all ways. You just need to go within and tap into this often untapped source of your power and strength. Remember: You are LOVED. You MATTER. You are here BECAUSE OF THEM.

Keep your head up!