Black People
We are smart
We are brilliant
We are bright
Black People
We get judged
And shot
And mistaken—
Mistaken for being dangerous in the very comfort of our own home
Mistaken for being dangerous just walking down the street
Dangerous even while delivering packages because we are UPS drivers,
as it clearly says on our uniforms
Black People
They hate our color,
But love our culture
Black People
We see those who copy our hair,
listen to our music,
want to be a part of our culture,
but won’t stand up for us when times aren’t right
Black People
70,000 of us MISSING in the country,
But very few of those cases are in the news
Black People
We get SHOT because the phone in our hand is mistaken for a gun—
Black People
We aren’t allowed to be sad
To feel depressed
To have feelings
Black People
We don’t get hired because our names sound too “black”
And when we are hired, it’s for diversity
And we get fired for bringing cultural concerns up on the job
Black People
We are
Mistreated
Not trusted
“Dangerous”
A threat
We are “animals”
We are hated
We are Black People
And we are people.
We don’t deserve to be treated like animals
We shouldn’t be hated
We shouldn’t be judged based on the color of our skin
We deserve a fair chance at life
We deserve to be loved
We deserve to live
And prosper
And be happy
We are black people, and we deserve better, because
We are People.
