We are near the end of Black History Month. However, we are not at the end of celebrating black history. June Kelly-Gray is our selection for Black History Month.
June retired from Harley-Davidson as a Supply Chain Specialist 20 years ago. She received her Associate of Science degree in Business & Management and a Bachelor of Science degree in Management.
She has been writing poetry for over 50 years. Her mother encouraged her to save all the poems that she has written. June has many poems in her portfolio to share with readers. However, back in 2005, she decided to submit a couple of her best poems to the International Library of Poetry. To her wonderful surprised, those poems were published in 2006 and 2007. She received two awards from the International Library of Poetry. She also received a merit award in poetry and an outstanding achievement trophy from the International Library of Poetry.
So, here is a poem that June Kelly-Gray wrote for Black History Month, entitled "Why Us?".
Why us? Why are we as black people hated, reviled, and looked at with disgust? Is it the color of our skin, which can range from light beige to dark black? Or is it something else? Looked upon as savages or even lower throughout all the nations, although we came from the sands of the earth and not the caves.
Why us? Why were our women good enough to suckle their babies, cook their food, clean their houses, wash, iron their clothes, lay with their men, produce their children while our men were being castrated, beaten, and hung, and our babies were used as alligator bait.
Why us? Forced to pick their cotton, build their buildings, railroads, streets, and infrastructures, and still not being good enough.
Photo by Jackson David
Why us? Why were we not allowed to drink out of the same water fountains, sit next to them on their buses, eat with them in their restaurants, go to the same schools, the same movie houses, the same entertainment venues, but good enough to entertain them?
Why us? Why are we stripped of our rights to vote, our right to live where we choose.
Why us? Stomped on, spit upon, called names. Why us? Therein lies a secret, a reason, a mystery. It is hidden, but it is also known, Why us?
Help Info eNConnect Consulting team celebrate June Kelly-Gray for her contribution to Black History Month by clicking the ❤️ and/or leave your comments below.
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