I Cry!

by Wanda Herndon

I Cry! 

Home alone, I cry. 

I cry for my ancestors, stolen from African homes 

To suffer the injustice of slavery in America 

Viewed as inhuman beasts of burden 

They died. 

I cry for my people who survived this shameful history 

Oppressed and terrorized, their tears watered the roots of inequality 

They suffered. 

I cry for an American dream lost 

Replaced by a Black person’s nightmare then and now 

Only we understand. 

I cry for members of my race, callously slain by evil 

Ku Klux Klan, vigilantes, neighbors, and the law 

Thousands still die. 

I cry about poverty and destitution engulfing our communities 

Unbreakable cycles of despair begun so long ago on slave ships, plantations 

Few escape. 

I cry, incensed by the murder of yet another Black person 

Knee on neck, asleep in bed, jogging in their neighborhood 

America is our country, too. 

I cry because we are not welcome 

We are tolerated by those who say, “It wasn’t me” 

A perk of White privilege. 

I cry because our sacrifices for America are unrecognized 

And our deficiencies emphasized 

Equality eludes us. 

I cry because our ancestors died for my chance 

Decades later, hate still festers and threatens our souls 

The pain is too much. 

I cry for justice.

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Wanda Herndon | CEO, W Communications

Wanda Herndon held the position of Starbucks senior vice president, Global Communications, from 1995 - 2006, during a period of unprecedented growth. She founded W Communications in 2006 after she retired from Starbucks. Clients of W Communications include Starbucks, lululemon athletica, Osaka Pharmaceuticals, as well as several other corporations and major universities.

Wanda has received numerous awards including the 2015 Puget Sound Business Journal’s Women of Influence and Senator Maria Cantwell’s (D-WA) 2018 Women of Valor Award. Wanda earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Journalism, and an honorary doctor of Humanities degree from Michigan State University.