My Blackness Within
I walked with my blackness
Not on my head like a crown of pride
But like a shackle around my feet
I basked in my down trodden self
Never lifting the true glory of me
I walked with my blackness
Blanketed in my self pity
Not seeing that my fight lies within
Shoulders slumped as I accept defeat
Before the game has even begun
I walked in my blackness
Contented to cower
When I should have stood proud
That my blackness is me
But still it is not
It doesn't define me
It doesn't speak for me
It doesn't even say where I am from
That my ancestors were Kings and Queens
Ruling over all they surveyed
That my forefathers were Inventors
Scholars, Philosophers and Yes! Farmers!
My blackness does not mean
I should be placed in your corner of shame
Labeled: thieves, hoes, n***s, dunce, thugs
And if you try to put me there
I will always get out
I must show there is more to my blackness
than what you see
Then you will come to respect the blackness of me
I walked in my blackness
No longer am I afraid
I accept now your challenges
And allay your fears
So when you see me walking
in your neighbourhood
Instead of your guns
your hands will wave “Hi” at me
Be black, be proud, let the world come to see
That there is more to my blackness
Than the age old perception of me!
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