In the spirit of my ancestors, I stand here today, carrying the torch of freedom that their hands struggled so hard to obtain.

I will run with the flames of my predecessors blazing fiercely within my heart, knowing that the scars and the bruises that they bore, forever in my memory will remain.

In the spirit of my ancestors, I will walk through the shadows of trials and tribulations with the voice of their struggles leading the way.

I will reap the harvest of justice and equality that they sowed with their agony and tears within the bowels of history and time, remembering always the chains of torment and darkness that they carried for my liberation and the price for my arrival that they all had to pay.

Candy D. Hall

Rocky Mount