Skip to Content

Freedom: Lips & Poetry

May 26, 2026 by
Freedom: Lips & Poetry
Lips and Language

Royalty

I've heard stories that the straighter my weave
The more I should believe that success would be inevitable
Incredible
Because the style of my hair could not even compare to the fact that my skin is still
Black
Backing me into the deep corners and shadows of my history
If I even tried to solve the mystery of kinky hair the only results I would find is that God truly made us a special kind of people
Not special as in better
Or superior
That's not the message we want to be teaching the next generation
But this newest population needs to understand the powerful det-onation resonating in solidarity instead of separation
Especially if the nation adopts a notion of criticism and discrimi-nation
Lets increase our community support
Supporting one another
Like sista and brotha
Raising our voices to the sky
Hi
My name is Cola and
I
Am
Just like my hair
Funky and free
Sometimes wild like a tree
I may braid it to tame it
Shave it
Color it
Wave it or shape it
Its beauty knows no bounds
My beauty had to re learn the sounds of love
An emotion that now makes me proud of this creation from the creator up above
Love
My soul urges and searches the highs and lows
To give love
To get love
To show love
To know love
Cause to know love is to know peace
But when there's no love there's no peace
Piecing together my comprehension I've heard mention that we've been crafted with a purpose and released to a destiny filled with choices and opportunities greater than any style that our hairs could be
See no matta what the world throws at me
I'm ready
Whether we become
Bus drivers
Inventors
Teachers
Doctors
Or preachers
Our ability to succeed
Should never exceed
Our appreciation
That we are free
Like John 8:36
Free to forgive and be forgiven
I feel the rhythms of change
Salute to our hair
I've developed a beautifully Multifaceted
Love affair

I declare that we are royalty

Reflection & Context

This piece was written from a place of reclaiming identity — not just cultural, but spiritual. It speaks to the journey of learning to love what God created, in a world that has often taught Black bodies, Black hair, and Black beauty to be minimized, managed, or misunderstood.

It reflects the shift from comparison to celebration, from insecurity to inheritance. From seeing hair as something to fix, to recognizing it as a crown. At its core, this poem is about dignity, purpose, and freedom — the kind that comes from knowing you are crafted by God, called by Him, and rooted in a story that carries both struggle and royalty.

Reflection Prompt

What parts of your identity have you had to relearn how to love?

Where are you being invited to see yourself not through the world’s criticism, but through the Creator’s intention?

Original Performance 


This piece was originally performed as part of the Lips & Poetry series, where spoken word meets lived experience. Watch the original recording below to hear the rhythm, breath, and emotion that first carried these words.

Experience the Poem in Voice