This past June a very close friend of Dr. Maya Angelou organized a tribute to the great lady here in San Antonio, Texas. As part of the program, Ms. Aaronetta Pierce asked me to organize a writing project involving young men and women. The goal was to have each of them write an essay or poem expressing what Dr. Angelou meant to them. As a result I was able to organize their writings and publish them as a collection in book form. If possible, I would share every one of these young people’s works with you the readers. They did an outstanding job, and I know Dr. Angelou would have experienced a few tears and some chills of joy, for the expressions of love that emanated from the pages of the publication. Although I could have easily chosen any one of the works to feature on this post, without a doubt, one stood out and that was Kayla Wilson’s poem “Ebony.”

Before I share this amazing young lady’s poem, let me articulate one of the many reasons why she is so special.  Kayla has just begun her senior year at the Northeast School of Arts, located within Robert E. Lee High School in San Antonio. She plans to attend Howard University and will major in creative writing and/or journalism. But recently, this young lady has shown the kind of courage that generations of young Blacks displayed in the 1960’s south, when they refused to be victims of a segregated society. Kayla has challenged the Board of Education for the Northeast Independent School District, insisting that they change the name of her high school.

Kayla’s request is based on her firm belief that no school should be named after a man who was a traitor to his country, and most important is not respected by a certain segment of the students. Graduates take pride in calling out the name of the school from which they graduated. There is no way Kayla can do that, if she has to call out the name of a man who she has all the reason not to respect. She took on this battle alone, with very little support. But now has the backing from a majority of Blacks, to include this writer, in San Antonio.

Kayla finds her strength to fight this battle in her love for who she is as a young Black creative artist. She, at the age of 17, has jettisoned the traditional definition of black, and formulated her own, for her comfort and satisfaction. In a school paper explaining the reason for her poem, she wrote, “I consider this poem to be some of my best work because it wasn’t just another poem… ‘Ebony’ represents me and how I view myself in contrast to society’s perception.”

I am pleased and honored to share Kayla’s beautiful expression of the color black in this space.

 

Black is not scary

or any form of fright.

Black is what holds the

glistening stars at night

Black is fierce and strong

yet gentle and kind.

Black is the juiciest berries

we make into our wine

Black is the passionate will

to win his fight

Black is the powerful back

that sustained every strike.

Black is the great stallion

running free in the wind.

Black is the gorgeous

array of mélange within.

Black is coal from which

diamonds are formed.

Black is the dark gold

that kept us warm.

Black is the thick, full,

and bodacious body parts.

Black is the beating drums

we have in our hearts.

Black is the strong stature

that can withstand burdens of time.

Black is not ugly.

Black is divine.

 

Kayla is our future. She has the courage of an Ida B. Wells-Barnett, the creative talent of a Toni Morrison, and the determination of a Fannie Lou Hamer. And she has parents who will nurture her natural gifts.  It is incumbent on all lovers of creative art to assure a path of success for this young lady, and by doing so we will know our culture’s sustainability is in excellent hands.