To celebrate this year's Black History Month, we'd like to share poems written by our very own Jaskirat Mann, Project Delivery Manager for our Skill Up Bucks and Multiply programmes, and Damaris Sende, Brokerage Adviser for our BEEP Project:

David Gomoh 

They came running,
They came running, 
You didn’t stand a chance. 
You were pulling up your coat, left your job at 5:40pm, 
You were seconds from your home……..if that! 
They came running, 
They came running, 
You were speaking to your girl about sweet nothings 
Thinking about a future, such a waste! 
Running, they were running…..David, 
Anyone would have done, you were just too preoccupied with love to see what they had done. 
It didn’t have to be you, 
The guy before you flew, 
You just turned into the wrong street, 
The wrong ends and they were insatiable with their appetites! 
They came running, 
They came running David, 
How must your sweat have poured?
Seeing you had but no chance, 
Let him live I implored! 
See, I saw that video of you walking but minutes from your home, 
I could do nothing but cry and scream, 
These are the streets of London, this insanity is not a dream! 
It filled me with anger David, 
It filled me with so much pain, 
You are yet another brother, son and boyfriend, 
That’s blood has been washed into these drains. 
If these streets could speak they would cry David,
If the drains could talk they would be alive, 
The blood of so many brothers who innocently walk the streets….only to die. 
You made it home just to die, 
Amongst your family, your father lost to Corona, 
You hadn’t even buried his body. 
You had such a bright future ahead of you, 
You did something with your life, worked for the NHS, 
Helped those people who were in distress. 
Here you lay bleeding out, 
There was never going to be a chance,
What good would you have been? 
Against the evil that ruled out. 
They were running, 
They were running, 
They got you….running.


Jazz Mann 2021

Still on a little longer...

If the truth be told black is beautiful black is bold!

Tried and tested black has gone through fires and come out like Gold!

Still on a little longer through the furnace, the scars have been printed, on our faces you look upon is a story  NO! it’s her story of what she faced even though she said NO, it’s his story about what he faced even though when asked he said NO.

Still on a little longer through life furnace, the scars get deeper on our faces you look upon was the tragedies that followed have been ripped apart from loved ones shipped of to different lands, across the oceans, moving from sea to seas, drowning in sorrow, scared for tomorrow. No hope all alone!

A treacherous time, A disgusting lie, it was disguised being called a trade, though people kidnapped, groomed, whipped in shame for no reason, being spat on, molested people committing treason, wicked crimes executed,  people abused and misused being shamed and being blamed, identity taken and being named! it was torture, through this furnace fire still on and a little longer...

Our rights has been the fight, the infancy of fighting for the right to life was the fight, but hang on it still is G.Floyd! Civil rights to sit on a bus to get to and from was a right to be contested and how so stupid we had to fight for this right and how wrong it was that this  impetuous law became a fight between human lives! Another fight again we had to fight for, was the right to have what was rightfully ours, T Jennings inventor of the dry scouring born a “free slave” had to fight for his right to his having his own name on his own invention.

Still on a little longer through the furnace fire we see the brilliance, the undeniable, the and unshakeable minds that couldn’t be taken this is beautiful this is our black lives,.. CJ Walker invents hair care and cosmetic lines for black people becoming the first black female billionaire. Whilst helping free people through the rail road, ME Pleasant built a massive property investment portfolio making her amongst the self-made millionaires.

Care to share how billions of people are able to safely cross the road lets ask G. Morgan inventor of the three light traffic signal. In the corn fields they knew their pain turned to gain, H. Blair invented the seed planter which supported work being done in better quantity and less time. Less we forget after crossing the road safely we needed to get to work A.Miles invented electric elevator doors that open and shut automatically. Still on a little longer through the furnace fire, voices fight to be heard in the boardrooms we sit tirelessly fighting for a word! but yet we do not easily quit. Still on a little longer the threat to humanity was at hand, all of us fighting an invisible killer, it threated the whole human race, it was a race against time but Dr K Corbett, we are thankful for your life, she develop a highly effective vaccine against Covid-19 and so here we are I see you and you see me.

The truth is told black is beautiful black is bold!

Tried and tested black has gone through furnace fires but still come out like Gold!


Damaris Sende

 

We'd like to thank Jazz and Damaris for sharing these powerful pieces of poetry with us. 

Adviza is proud to offer staff a platform to share their views on a wide range of diversity and inclusion topics and acknowledges that these are, as they should be, many and varied. We champion equality and diversity which means all views are welcome.

Our vision is for all young people and adults to make better decisions that help them achieve their full potential. That includes following the path that makes them happy and being the most authentic version of themselves.

 

12th October 2023