Writing/Essay/Journal
Brother Ali makes the horrors of slavery come alive as a way to remind us that it’s essential to know the stories of the past in order to understand what’s happening today. Write about “the culture from which you came.” Use your elders as a source for information about the history, music, important people, joys and suffering that contributed to who you are today.

Activity
The repeated refrain of the song says:
Now stop and imagine that’s you.
Now stop imagining, unravel the truth and ask just who is it happening to…
So if humanity is one,
We all get burned when it’s hell we’re traveling through.

Discuss in groups what you think Brother Ali means by this stanza, particularly the last line.