{"text":"Most people write me off when they see me.They do not know my story.They say I am just an African.They judge me before they get to know me.What they do not know isThe pride I have in the blood that runs through my veins;The pride I have in my rich culture and the history of my people;The pride I have in my strong family ties and the deep connection to my community;The pride I have in the African music, African art, and African dance;The pride I have in my name and the meaning behind it.Just as my name has meaning, I too will live my life with meaning.So you think I am nothing?Don’t worry about what I am now,For what I will be, I am gradually becoming.I will raise my head high wherever I goBecause of my African pride,And nobody will take that away from me.","author":"Idowu Koyenikan","tags":["africa","africa-herbalist","africa-house","africa-leaders","africa-people","africa","africa-s-predicament","africa-s-wealth","africa-will-shake","african","african-american","african-american-","african-americans","african-","african-believes","african-citizens","african-continent","african-cultural","african-culture","african-cup-of-nations","african-descent","african-development","african-development-bank","african-dictators","african-fiction","african-freethinker","african-great-healer","african-great-lakes","african-healer","african-juju","african-languages","african-leaders","african-literature","african-my-motherland","african-national-congress","african-people","african-proverb","african","african-safari","african-saying","african-socialism","african-story-telling","african-traditional-healer","african-union","african-voodoo","african-woman","african-women","african-writer","africana","africana-studies","africans","black-america","black-americans","black-book-","black-girl","black-girls-rock","black-history","black-history-month","black-in-america","black-intellectuals","black-is-beautiful","black-literary-classics","black-literature","black-lives-matter","black-queen","black-woman","black-women","blackness","china-achebe","desmond-tutu","kofi-annan","kwame-nkrumah","nelson-mandela"],"id":178507,"author_id":"Idowu+Koyenikan"}