We did not choose the soil that first held our feet,
yet from it, we grew… roots reaching toward each other.

We are not one people, but one breath.
Not one story, but one river
fed by a thousand streams.

Our heritage is not a relic, it is a living thing,
moving through our blood,
speaking through our laughter,
resting in the wisdom of those who came before.

Freedom is not a date on a calendar.
It is the moment we choose to see ourselves
in the face of another
and say you are mine, and I am yours.

So today we celebrate Wezi,
we celebrate Africa,
we celebrate the radical, ancient act
of loving one another across difference.

We are stronger together…
not despite who we are,
but because of it.