The ancestors,

And the relatives,

Those who have fallen to racism,

And those who still fight today,

This is black history month.

Harriet Tubman,

An amazing leader,

The underground railroad in which freed my people from the shackles of slavery,

The coded song that sent a message.

Martin Luther King,

An amazing leader, 

“We will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream,”

The dream that changed lives,

The speech that touched hearts.

Rosa Parks,

An activist,

A anti-rape activist,

A civil rights activist,

Jailed for not giving a seat out,

The mother of the civil rights movement.

Bayard Rustin,

An activist to non-violent resistance, 

The teacher of MLK,

An advocate for the LGBTQ community,

An openly gay man who had been persecuted and arrested for his sexual orientation. 

Fannie Lou Hamer,

A civil rights activist,

A woman who encouraged african americans to vote,

Shot at,

Beaten,

Arrested,

And Threatened,

and still had never given up.

Dorothy Height,

And civil rights and women's rights activist,

Giving a voice to african women,

Empowering others.

Mary McLeod Bethune,

A black educator,

A women and civil rights leader,

Opening a boarding school for girls,

The president of the National Council of Negro Women,

Founding many organizations for racial and gender equality.

Shirley Chisholm,

The first african american woman in congress,

National Women's Political Caucus’s co-founder,

“There were Negro men in office here before I came in five years ago, but they didn’t deliver.”

Hamilton-Madison Child Care Center’s director.

These are only some of the tons of amazing leaders we have as black people,

Their fires will never die out,

We will continue to tell the tales of their acts,

Black Lives Matter.