; who gave their lives in the fight for freedom and justice we must: Always remember. For the tens of thousands of slaves who risked their lives in search of freedom on the Underground Railroad we must: Always remember. For freedom fighters such as Harriet Tubman, who escaped slavery and dedicated her life to returning to the South no less than 13 times freeing enslaved men women and children, we must: Always remember. For the White liberators like John Brown and President Abraham Lincoln who lived and died combating the horrific institution of slavery we must: Always remember. To commemorate the centuries of suffering, the years of tears shed, the history of hearts broken, the brutality of blood spilled, and the grieving over lives lost because of slavery we must: Always remember. Yet, in the spirit of righteous remembrance imbued with love for our country that hasn’t always loved its brothers and sisters of African ancestry, we have to acknowledge that: In spite of slavery and despite its invidious offsprings: mass lynchings, convict leasing, Black codes, lawful segregation, and institutional racism, African Americans have come a laudably long way. From our arrival on slave ships to our ascension to judgeships, From surviving the Middle Passage to thriving among the masses, From shackled in chains to creating societal change, From sitting in the back of buses to owning bus companies, From having no house to living in the White House, From painfully picking cotton to proudly picking Presidents, From adult males and females being disrespectfully called boy and girl to being respectfully presented as Mr. President and Madam Vice President. The truth be told, although we have come a long way, we still have a way to go. In closing let us resolve that as we forge forward we will commemorate our past and embrace our destiny, always remembering the hardships people of African heritage have endured in tandem with the victories won in spite of the seemingly invincible challenges emanating from insidious slavery and its