Will you understand?

By: Jon Davis with inspiration from Veronica Bofah, a Harding University High School student along with an incredible group of students and community leaders based in Charlotte, NC. They came together for a compelling initiative called “Difference Makers” built in collaboration by CIS Charlotte and The Gambrell Foundation.

I am asking you to understand

that sometimes the world can feel a little crammed

and we just need a little space

to stand and expand.

For the change we seek requires us to re-brand

because oppression, racism and greed

truly no longer stand.

So I am asking you today…

will you understand?

That I just want to be seen

to be heard

and to be free.

Will you try to understand

what freedom means to me?

If the world would just let me be

and see the wisdom in me

then we will have space

to shift the world

from I to we.

And dream everyday

about what might be

if we all were truly free.

We have the courage to stand as we

to not tolerate hate, exclusion or an inability to see.

Because if we all did truly see

we would reconcile, heal and repair

our brand of humanity.

With new voices, curiosity and creativity

because your humanity

is tied to my humanity

and when I see you

I am actually seeing me.

We could replace oppression with full expression

and end the epidemic of suppression and depression

with our collective expression.

So once again I ask

will you understand?

That if you truly want to stand

then I need space to expand.

But I promise when I expand

you will want to stand

and then we will finally have

our new human brand.

So I am asking you one last time

to imagine just how grand

our world will truly be

when we fully understand.