Scarlet and Black: Today's Gift 
by Alyea Pierce

A poem recited by the author and two-time Rutgers graduate at Rutgers University Excellence Fest
November 4, 2021

When I was a little girl
my parents would read me stories
of Kings and Queens conquering lands
of warriors, gladiators, champions who still stood after years of fighting the lions
and of captains, who were this world’s lighthouse

But these stories read to little black girl from New Jersey never prepared me for this new day
to be witness to a legend reppin’ scarlet and black
the first black president in over 254 years of Rutgers history
the 21^st president
a historian
a scholar
an educator
who values a conversation on a sun burnt Old Queens park bench
who can laugh at his own jokes
who has forgiven the turn of the weather over the last two years
to build a legacy that is worthy of this time
who remembers that this work is for the students
the next Paul Robeson
the explorers, the curious
the scientists, musicians, teachers, thinkers, and innovators

You remind students that this life is not a race, but still
the time is now
now is the time to start now
there is no other time but now
to work together
to dance hard
to dream
speak not to be heard
to be the call to action and the stand
Our students are the truth
they real rap raw
they spit that hot fire
they magic
they blessings blooming
Our students need to believe in an idea and themselves
We are a campus that needs to believe in something whole body and soul full
and we believe in you.

This is a declaration:
this is what excellence looks like
With a testimony traveling the lengths of the United States
from Hawaii and Alabama
to Maryland
California and then Connecticut
You are right before our eyes
in New Jersey
at Rutgers University

thank you for choosing us
for being our President
caring for us
challenging us to have the hard conversations
awakening us to be proud of our voices
 
hoping for us, this beloved community to be proud of our differences
because someone’s different is someone’s normal
and someone’s normal is someone’s home
and home is a kaleidoscope of America
individual pieces, shapes, and colors that have no sense
but when shifted, molded, and held up to the sun for a little bit longer
the picture becomes a mosaic
whole
and we are only whole with you by our side, President Holloway
because you are love
power
the tree planted by the river
that we have rooted ourselves beside

This is an invitation to the congregation:
to come to the table with shoes off
favorite dish in hand and share amongst the family
This is for the culture
for the war, the win, and the freedom
for the fire in our bellies
for the caged bird
this is for history
a black history
a story too loud for just one page in a textbook
this is for the army of ancestors
the ones who may not have made the journey but are in our bones
the ones who tried to get us as close to back home as they could get
the ones who discovered home
before they ever discovered them
this is for the city that must be rebuilt after the reckoning
the black bodies’ step, song, speech, and swag that was built into this campus’ concrete
they have been waiting for the revolution to resound beyond these banks loud
real loud
singing the old songs and telling the stories of

Scarlet and Black
Scarlet and Black
Scarlet and Black
Scarlet Forever