together

This piece was written in early 2020 on a tour of Cape Coast Castle, a slave fort, in Ghana. For some, walking in the place where their ancestors suffered is a traumatic experience. while we were waiting to enter, I asked my companions for their “go to” song. The song they rely on for strength in difficult times. I then set about typing furiously on my phone, weaving the titles of those songs into this prose. I read it aloud to the group, and then we set off on our tour… together.

Together we give voice to words unspoken, vision to things unseen. Together we lay open the dark heart of our history and descend into the belly of the beast that is Cape Coast Castle. Out of this womb of a people’s pain that gave birth to the Diaspora, generations lost have finally come home.

Together we begin to heal the Fragile Heart. My brothers, my sisters, this is a Song for You. The voices of our people call to us from the Throne Room of our history. Mother, father, auntie, uncle, we hear you. We Never Would Have Made It to this distant shore without you. This is Me, and this is for you.

Together we’ll hold onto each other in the darkness. Together we’ll endure this pain. And together we’ll fly up from this place of suffering into the light, and just… Stand.