Black

Black

The color of my skin, the color of my culture, the color of my community and history.

I’m black

I mean I’m brown but that’s not what you call me.

But what difference does it make to a person of a different color?

You lock your car door when you see my face

you ready your weapon cus you don’t feel safe

you call the cops because I look suspicious but really I'm just waiting on my barber to get to the shop

True story

We’ve been pushed to be different or act differently when the only difference is that we’re a different shade of human

povertized criminalized dehumanized

Realize

I didn’t choose to be born to a race that gets scorned

but I embrace my color proudly because I’m proud of our progress

From slavery to salvation we’re fighting discrimination

were growing together and fighting the stereotypes

Oh yes the stereotypes the myths that shape a part of our culture

the things that people make up about us

they can be so little but also so severe

like black people can't swim

or that we're all criminals

. These are some of the myths that shape our reality

. You enter a store eager to purchase an item only to realize you’ve been followed around since the moment you entered

you live in a good town but they assume you’re from the hood

you have a happy family but somehow deadbeat dad pops up in the convo.

or how about you ask your kid to name a successful black businessman or woman excluding athletes or musicians

think about how many they can tell you compared to the athletes and musicians

You see they teach us the wrong things which make us pursue the wrong things

They teach and tell us we live in the land of the free and the home of the brave

But it was really stolen by the whites and then built by the slaves

But how could this be the land of the free when I’m not free to do simple things?

I can’t walk freely with a hood on or my hands in my pocket and that’s a damn shame. Free since 1865 and you can barely see change.

And then we got a justice system with no justice for just us

cus you see I’m 18 my life is just beginning I see a cop and fear my life may soon be ending but not all cops are bad I guess it’s just the ones I met

So I guess it’s better now then it was before

again that’s progress

from nothing to something

So yea I accept it, no I embrace being black regardless of what you call me

from monkey to jiggaboo my skin is beautiful

my culture is amazing

and my history empowering.

I am. Proud. I am black