Thoughts I have as a free man:
Years of oppression are over and finally I am a free man. For the first time in all these years in this country I feel optimistic about my future. I was forcibly taken away from my homeland at a very young age and brought to this country.
I have worked day and night on the fields of this country. Never was my work regarded or never was I treated with respect. Now I believe I will be treated with respect like every other American.
Now this is my home too. I believe I too am part of this land, the land where I have toiled for years. Now that slavery is abolished and we are granted citizenship I know that I as well as my future generations can live on this land as free people with dignity.