<Culture Independence>

Edward Na DP1

Hello our culture’s future leaders, creators and defenders. Today as a leader of black art movement, I am here to ask you to take special responsibility. It is a responsibility which only you are able to take, able to accomplish and make it happen.

Let’s take a look back on our history. White people, only because their skin color is white, they took our freedom, family and rights to be treated equally. Since 1789 to 1861 for 172 years they treated us as animals they own. Now they are trying to take our culture away from us again. Whites are trying to make our culture as theirs by insisting that we are part of U.S and we are same people. Harlem renaissance is a culture boom that we created, take a look at the number of musicians, writers and actors. You can hardly name any famous white artist. We are the main role in Harlem renaissance, us African Americans.

Because our ancestors weren’t civilized as white people were, they were not powerful enough to defend themselves from white people thus slavery. But we are civilized now. We have knowledge to defend ourselves and power to defend our culture. Are we going to let the whites take away our thing again? Like our ancestors failed to defend themselves and lead us to be slavery for almost 20 decades, are we going to let our future generation ashamed of us? No, we should not let our dark past repeat.

My generation of artists will soon face the time to retire. We are getting old and we would not be able to perform as great as our past days. We will be less affective to society. However, you, young African American artists are going to rise as new stars and celebrities. It is now on your hand that our culture, American African's culture rise like a new star or remembered as  glory lying on the past.

We have already done it once. We have retrieved our freedom, family and rights from whites. Let us win this battle again. Make us proud of you, make your children proud of you, make yourselves pride when you look back to past in the future.

Thank you for listening

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