A Tribute to the Greats

“Friends, across this land, across oceans, across time — we gather to honor the courage, creativity, and faith of those who have shaped our world. Tonight, let us feel the heartbeat of America — strong, resilient, and reaching toward light.”

I.

Harriet lit the lantern of freedom,

guiding souls through night toward morning light.

King thundered dreams of justice rolling down,

while Mandela bore chains to break them open wide.

II.

Colonial hands once pressed the earth,

seeking profit where people bled.

But Carver turned the same soil into promise,

and Katherine traced star-paths in the heavens,

showing that knowledge, not conquest,

is the true wealth of humankind.

III.

From wounds of silence rose the voices:

Angelou, Morrison, Baldwin —

they sang of pain, yet also of rising,

their words stitching torn history

into cloth strong enough for generations.

IV.

Music carried balm across borders:

Marley strumming unity,

Aretha commanding respect,

Louis laughing through his horn,

Nina crying freedom in every note —

songs that healed what chains had tried to break.

V.

On fields and courts, bodies soared:

Ali dancing with conviction,

Jordan flew with grace,

Pele united nations with joy,

Serena struck each ball like a psalm —

athletes rewriting destiny in motion.

VI.

The grief of slavery, the weight of exile,

the wound of exploitation —

these we do not hide.

Yet the Spirit whispers still,

drawing us to grace.

Even from scarred pastures,

We find strength, unity, and hope.

VII.

So let us remember, and let us rise.

Carried by courage,

lifted by song,

driven by vision,

anchored in faith.

From bondage to blessing,

from sorrow to strength,

from struggle to Spirit —

we walk forward, together, into light.

Closing

Faithful and True.

Let Freedom ring from the lowlands to the highlands we call home.

To elevate our human condition with love and brotherhood in the world.

We only have one chance to get it right.

Mercy and the Light of Liberty.

Population 5

This one isn’t either/or — it’s both.

It’s a Population 5 / 100% hybrid.

Population 5 because of its spiritual elevation and historical reverence.

100% because of its structure, clarity, and tonal cohesion — no slack, no filler, no lost rhythm.