Slave

Nigger

Negro

Black man

African-American

President

Human

Evidence of the change we seek

Substance of the audacity of our hope

I see the tears of your joy, Rev Jesse

I sense your euphoria, Martin

Our gratitude to you, Rosa

Much respect to you, Tut

All hail the chief, Barack

We shall, can, have, will overcome

Yes, we can.

Yes!

By the grace of God, we all can.

- Austin Henry

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Obama: I come to shine

I come to shine,

like a star, sun or moon

to blaze a trail across history,

to bring change and to fulfil

a prophecy that rang for ages

down the long corridors of time.

I come to shine,

though ugly forces

flaunt themselves and shriek

against the dream like hell's minions.

But God has ushered in a new day,

a new era, and gave me a mandate - to shine!

I rise from a past,

stained by hopelessness;

cursed with abuse, rejection and oppression.

And now, I come to destroy self-pity, limits,

and borders, so that the young may grab on to the hem

of unyielding hope.

- Rohan Facey