Let Your Black Skin Sing
My identity came with those around me because the ink cartridges on my skin weren’t enough
I am not black like the other black boys and girls
I am light and mixed and whispered under the breaths of millions lucky
But I watched my dark-skinned brothers and sisters sit down as they watched
Boy on the screen get shot like it was target practice
I’m not going to go into this, but I am going to talk about
The way dark skin goes with the color of the sun
Because their skin is made of what the sun can give
Have you ever seen a black woman in yellow?
Her skin making love to the sun
A black man looks up at the sun for reassurance
My cousins sat in the sun in their backyards because that was safer
After Stephon Clark, they won’t sit out there for a while
Instead, they will contemplate in their homes in front of the windows
They will think about how they were the first on this earth
They will think about their heritage and their skin made
To bathe in the sun like it was a life source
They will remember the big black supporters like Malcolm X, MLK Jr, Rosa Parks
But listen to a lucky person who only gets targeted for other reasons
You are the next black supporters, you are the revolution
You are the next Emancipation Proclamation, the next Brown v. The Board of Education
You will not be beaten down, even if you’re killed we will always love you more
Then the designated hashtag and songs
You will lay in our hearts forever just as MLK and Huey Newton
Your skin will bathe in the sunlight without the worry of freedom being taken away
Let your skin sing.