It pleases me greatly to know that I am made of soil
and in the end will return to dust.
So why should I be worried
by the contempt of those who pay no heed to this truth
when they insult and discriminate against me
because of the colour of my skin?
Can the potter be ordered about by the pot,
or the clay instruct the artisan kneading it
into a chosen form?
O, my God, how can I not praise you?
I give thanks to you, my Creator,
for you have made me with intelligence and wisdom,
and I am proud to have been created Black.
I thank you, Lord, for my sister, who you made so beautiful,
her skin polished by the sun.
To paraphrase the Song of Songs,
I thank you, O God, for having made us diverse,
for giving humanity such wonderful harmony—
just as many different flowers together create a garden’s beauty.
Lord, I pray for those who harbour hatred for people of colour.
Heal them of their ignorance that they might realize the vanity of their lives.
For whatever they may be today,
we all shall return to dust.
Lord, empower us to be wise and humble
so that we may love one another as you have loved us and come to have true LIFE. Amen!
―Demanya Kofi Akoussah, inspired by Isaiah 45:9 and similar verses, as well as by Genesis 3:19