For trespassing Africa the Motherland, no charge
For disturbing my peace, no charge
For capturing me, no charge
For destroying families, no charge
For shipping me across the oceans, no charge
For stripping me of my language, no charge
For prohibiting my customs, no charge
For violating my way of life, no charge
For not housing me properly, no charge
For traumatizing my children, no charge
For the murder of those lost at sea, no charge
For the unpaid labor forced on me, no charge
For lack of rest and recreation, no charge
For lack of food, no charge
For lack of education, no charge
For lack of health care, no charge
For the lashes and abuse, no charge
For the insults and disrespect, no charge
For the enduring torture, no charge
For the rape of women and children, no charge
For delayed so-called freedom, no charge
For so-called freedom without compensation, no charge
For oppression that endures, no charge
For the racism, no charge
For the discrimination, no charge
For the lack of reparation, no charge
For lack of respect, no charge
For lack of employment opportunities, no charge
For lack of fair housing, no charge
For lack of equal justice, no charge
For the lack of voting rights, no charge
For the reality of voter suppression, no charge
For the lack of economic justice, no charge
For the lack of social and cultural justice, no charge
For your unwillingness to listen, no charge
For your unwillingness to act, no charge
For your unwillingness to see and hear, no charge
For the continued suffering, no charge
For enabling the hate, no charge
For not seeing me, no charge
For killing me, no charge
For all of this and more, no charge
Emancipation, honestly
You got yours
Mine is still pending
Glenn Schmidt,
For the Ancestors,
St. Eustatius
