MY FLAG, MY COUNTRY! by Mary Neal

This is our flag and our country!  Too often the flag is used as a symbol of one political party rather than a symbol of the United States of America.  Many African Americans do not say with pride, "I am an American!" because of the ongoing racism and centuries of hatred we have endured and continue to battle.  But when you look around you wherever you happen to be in this country, you see the results of centuries of our contribution. 

We did not come here in the 1940's seeking a better life.  We have been here from the beginning working to make America the prosperous nation that it is ever since the earliest settlers!  That's black men's blood under the overpasses where you drive.  That's black men's sweat you see drying on the railroad tracks as you take long trips, sweat from leased slaves.  That's black men's blood on the battlefields from the Revolutionary War to Iraq's desert.  That's black children's echos you hear as you drive by the cotton fields throughout the South. 

This is MY COUNTRY, and I'm going to fight to hold America to the pledge I was instructed to say every morning of my young life: 

"I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

America WILL keep her pledge to me, even though my hands are raw, calloused and swollen from yanking her promises away from those who would withhold the rights I am due, and I honor my pledge to America.  My great, great, great grandmother came from Africa, but for me, America is home!  I will join hands in unity with Americans of all races and ethnic groups and fight to make her better just as our fathers fought to carve her out of wilderness and died to keep her safe.  Let others give up on America, but I'm going to stand right here and claim my hard-won citizenship with pride and demand what is mine by birth and bloodshed.  God bless America!  

Great video!  Watch:     www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHqUipinDyw

Mary Neal Assistance to the Incarcerated Mentally Ill
P.O. Box 7222, Atlanta, GA  30357
Website:  http://wrongfuldeathoflarryneal.com