As dark as nights in Tanzania
Oh, African women leaders of Africa and the African Diaspora
you are the mid-wife leaders, Spiritualists and womanists
you are the other mothers and our Indigenous queen mothers
you are the healers and community leaders
the bearers of cultural knowledges and truths
as you carry knowledge from Africa to the Diaspora
Oh, African women leaders
you are the political leaders and teachers of the Caribbean
I see my ancestors in you
for you also come from the Americas
you are Ma, Granny, Nanny and Cubah
you are centre women as you keep the community together
for you teach us about blackness through stories
Oh, African women leaders
you were always our mothers, daughter and sisters
although, one hundred years ago
you were neither wives nor mothers
because you were enslaved
you are resisters of slavery, colonialism and imperialism
you survived through questioning and challenging authority
you provide room for personal empowerment and transformation
as you teach us how to dismantle unequal injustice and oppression
Oh, African women leaders
of Africa and the African Diaspora
please remain with us
as we learn to take risk and lift as we climb
for you teach us to share and care
we are empowered for we learned from you about our history
Marilyn Patricia Yearwood
Email Marilyn Patricia Yearwood
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