March On Washington - 2020. Poem by Bernedita Rosinha Pinto

Marin Luther King Jr. said - "I have a dream"
a dream that will dazzle racial justice and equality,
a dream that no man will be judged by the color of his skin
a dream that will guarantee equal voting rights
to men of all colors whether white or black,
a dream that will outlaw racial discrimination.

And that dream was in the year 1963;
today the same dream re-appears in the eyes of every black man,
a dream that still insists that men should not be judged
or punished by the color of their skin,
a dream that no black man should be shot ruthlessly;
a dream that no black man should be condemned or intimidated
just because he feared the men in the uniform
just because a black man fell helpless and feared the punishment.

"I have a dream" Martin Luther King Jr. had said,
he had dream't that people must be judged
by the content of their character
and not by the color of their skin;
he had asked for equal job opportunities
for his black brothers and sisters;
he had asked for protection of their civil rights
and not for bullets in their backs
or for knees on their necks.

And as humanity is the only light which can shine
any day and at any time or at any corner
whether it is dark or broad daylight,
humanity is the only grace man can share freely with each other;
humanity is the only red color that circulates
under the skin of every human being
and it is the same red color which is called blood
that saves human beings when they need a transfusion
and whether that blood is of a black man or white,
everyone rushes with it to save a life.

So let the dream of equality of Martin Luther King Jr. dazzle
as decades have passed, and as the fraternity gathers
on the streets of Washington in memory of Martin Luther King Jr.
the voices still rise asking to respect their civil rights
and that no black man should ever face any racial discrimination.

So let there be no atrocities or gunshots
let no families of black man be left without a son or a father,
let no whispers of racial discrimination ever be heard,
let no citizen of America with a skin color that is black
be ever shot or roughed up or be put under the knees;
let every black man live by his dream of democracy
as a man called Martin Luther King Jr. had asked
for racial justice for them over fifty seven years ago
and it is time America keeps that dream afloat forever.