And All You Have to Say Is

An Open Letter to the Secessionist


We have died and suffered at your hand. First on your slave ships, dirty debased living and dying in our own filth. The smell of death is overwhelming. Our beautiful black skin is soaking in salt water, urine and solid human waste. All splashing in our faces as we are smeared with feces. Naked stripped of our dignity, chained together woman and man pissing, shitting, menstruating as one. And all you have to say is “Get Over It.

We have not reached your shores and already in your name for profit we are injured or dead. Debased, embarrassed beyond your shallow imagination while more die than reach your shores. Watching sister mother brother father helpless and unable to provide or protect. And all you have to say is, “Get Over It.”

Beaten, battered, bewildered, and befuddled we began a journey beyond our belief. Framed by our circumstances you must be beyond believing we would chose slavery and servitude, lynching, beating and rape. We did not choose this as our land of opportunity. 

Picking cotton and tobacco was not our Dream. Working in the big house was never our dream. Building your cities and your monuments was not our dream and neither was fighting in your wars, raising your children, and working in your factories or your good government jobs. None of this was ever our dream.

You changed our dream to suit yours and we have adapted. Yes we made the adjustment despite what you have done and we continue to support a nation that has failed to earnestly acknowledge what they have done to the people who can truly call this home and the people forced to call this home. 

Our dreams did not include welfare and fatherless homes inhabited by pregnant teens. Nor did it include our sons dying in the street and killing each other to peddle the drugs you have provided with guns you supply. No this is your dream and it is our nightmare and all you have to say is, “Get Over It.”

It minimizes what has occurred and is occurring in a way that is insulting. How dare you deny your history and your responsibility and culpability for the outcomes by referring to the traumatizing nightmare you created for us as “It”. “It” does not begin to paint the picture of slavery, servitude, rape murder and genocide. These descriptors are far better. So in the future when you twist your mouth to say, “Get Over It”……….

Say it these ways please just get over the rapes, lynching’s, beating and bombings. Forget about to 200 plus years of slavery and forced separation from family. Ignore the demeaning names like coon nigger, spear chucker, or jungle bunny. Pay no attention to Pat Buchanan’s, Rush Limbaugh’s and Sean Hannity's as they lead legions who think just like them and are not afraid to post their hate all over the internet. Get over the poor schools lack of education and jobs that will support our families. Get over being locked out of opportunity and instead locked in prison.

Getting over all that with your boot on my neck was really difficult but I have and now one has risen to Commander and Chief and you want to secede from the Union. Really we did not leave when you did all of that and you want to secede because of our success at winning an election. If this is your nightmare you must realize you appear awfully silly when you put it up against mine. 

Let me see if I have this right you wish to secede from the union because a man born to raised by, educated by and mentored by White America seems threatening to you. Based on this perception of threat that you know will never become the reality our nightmare did, you wish to secede. Well he won and beat you at your own game as you taught him to. I have one question how long will it take you to “Get Over IT”


By Jay Henry for all those who wish to secede Get Over It