Leroy Moore
Tuesday, March 27, 2001;
Happy birthday to Disability Advocates of Minorities Organization Happy
birthday to you
I want you to close your eyes
Sit back and let your mind fly
Through four years of fighting to survive
Once upon a time
In the year of 1995
Leroy traveled from the US to the UK
After 24 years being on the outside
He found what he called home in a foreign land
Black disabled brothers and sisters organizing and speaking their minds
Oh yeah I could understand
Their rage, beauty and talents
Set a fire from the inside
A year flew by
Traveled back and forth
US to the UK UK to the US
I was a changed man
Could not go back working for the man
Everybody was shocked
"What happen to Leroy in London!"
Like James Baldwin
I've been to the mountaintop
Started to lecture on race and disability
My two communities did not know what to do with me
"He is too radical and way too angry!"
1996, London still flipping in my mind
Pockets full of lent
Had to put London aside
1997, worked on my final solution
To be independent from racist and disabilist organizations
Breaking the silence through poetry and personal stories
One is a lonely number
I remember the organizing of my brothers and sisters across the sea
That‚s when the seed was planted and DAMO was placed on paper
1998 DAMO‚s first meeting
Me and the wall
My dream was shattered and I was about to fall
Then people started to call
Mixed emotions
Fear of the unknown
1999 DAMO growing like a grapevine
Breaking ground in Oaktown
Media wanted to know what was going down
Jumping from place to place
Shared an office downtown
Trying to be all around the Bay
Poetry, Talk show, organizing and family events
People started to burn out
No money, no support and no office
The year 2000 came back to San Francisco
Many founding members were gone
But the struggle to survive keeps going on
The rebirth of DAMO
New faces, new fiscal sponsor and a grant
Now it's time to spread our wings and fly
Laying down the foundation
For future generations
But we still live in a capitalist nation so we need your donations
Now open your eyes
Leave the four years behind
And lets party tonight
Cause tomorrow we will all be back on the front lines
BY Leroy F. Moore Jr.
Founder and Executive Director of DAMO