the first day
497 Words
The first day i realized i was black
It was 2007,
we had just learned about blacks
For the first time.
In second grade
At recess
All the white kids chased me
Into the forest chanting “slave”
My mother said i refused to come out for hours,
Said she thinks i was lost in the trees
And that I needed to be closer to my roots.
As a woman
Having a boyfriend is a battle
If 70% of us are abused in a lifetime
What is the number of men who
Are doing it?
The answer is not one man
Running faster than light to complete a mission…
And that leaves me sick.
The second day i realised i was black
I was at a gas station
I only had 25 cents so i
Searched what to spend it on
The cashier floated from isle to isle
Fixed on my hands. That was the first time
I realized that skin color was a crime.
25
My body has become
Cause to write legislation
Cause for ass slaps in the back of a class
My body has demanded everything except respect.
I have been asked
“What makes you feel unsafe”
And i struggle not to yell
EVERYTHING
The third day i realised i was black
Was in an all white cafeteria.
I gathered my legs form under me
Made rockettes on my feet and approached a girl.
She told me she wasn't into my “type”
I felt the words shoot daggers into my melanin
I never wanted to disappear so badly.
As a woman I’ve learned to answer everything except my name.
Little lady is not said to mean equal
But to make sure that I remember my place.
I battle to wanting to own my body
And accepting that there is a one in 4 chance
A man will lay claim to my skin..
A plot of land for the taking.
26
The last day i realised that i was black
Was in an elevator..to the white woman. That she told me
She knew what it felt like to be black because she grew up poor
I would tell you think before you speak
But your mind has to be bacteria infected
And any filter through that labrinth nothingness
Might be worse then no thought at all
There is a group of women
Going around the room
Sharing their personal
Definition of feminism
He is the only man in the room and all of
A sudden that tone switches to
Destroying the patriarchy by annihilating
All men.
Do you know what it means to be black?
To pop lock your way in and out of hugs?
It is not a problem you want to sympathize
But to tell me that you know my pain
Is to stab yourself in the leg
Because you saw me get shot.
We have two different wounds
And looking at yours dose nothing to heal mine
- Writer
