42 million strong and yet I’m still the only one in a classroom

There sit Pantone 489, 7020, and 91-8, but nothing darker.

Nothing with less sugar and vanilla flavored sugar added to the mix.

 

“You don’t act black”

“You’re an oreo”

Phrases that pay homage to Jim Crow

Microaggression is the new prejudice

 

Working twice as hard to prove myself

Preconceived notions pressed upon you like the flowers of a scrapbook

I have a 4.7 GPA, but you don’t know

I’m black, and that’s all you need to know

 

America the great

But great for who?

The indigenous people ruthlessly massacred to near extinction?

The almost people brought here in shackles and fear?

 

Stripped of our culture

Lost languages

Lost traditions

Lost lineages

 

Twitter made me proud to be black

Millennials and Generation Z leading the 21st civil rights movement

In America’s darkest hour, the kids lead us to the light