Dear America,  You kidnap me from my home and family in my motherlandYou stuff me under your ships for months and set sail for a New WorldYou ruffle my feathers and force me into your fields You sell me as a slave for way less than my worth You beat me, you rape me, you sell my children across the SouthYou have me raise your own yet still treat me like a caged animalYou forbid me to learn, to write, to read, to even speak my own languageBut what have I done so wrong, oh America? After centuries of enslavement you build your country on my backYou declare me free yet still bound me with your lawsDoesn’t old scripture say “whom is free is truly free indeed”?Oh no, not you Ms. America- you bound me with your Jim Crow laws and your segregation, yet you still claim I’m your equal After decades of your “freedom”, you forbid me what you promised the white manWhen we fight for our freedom, you murder our men and burn our churchesNow four centuries later, Ms. America’s history repeats itself You judge me by my skin color first, my intelligence lastYou arrest our men for years, kill our sons in secondsBut how is the white killer still free?“black on black crimes” is no justification to me You gun down our males, blaspheme our black presidentDoes he not an obligation not only as an American man, but also a black man?Why, Ms. America, is he “African-American”, but you not “European-American”? You tell me to prove myself, get an education, graduate the top of my classYou tell me to raise my children, build a home, and be a stand-up citizenThen why, oh America, am I still treated like a useless immigrant? You refuse me your help-your financial aid and government assistanceYet have the audacity to rebuke me after my tears and tolls have gone to your economy, taxes, and rigged systemYou bound me to your new laws, your new ways, your new centuryIs a [intelligent] black immigrant woman too taboo for you? You counterfeit my culture, my style, my life, and sell it all as your ownBut still turn up your nose when I depict my true self in those very same aspects Now you refuse me justice for my dead father, brother, son that you have gunned downYou refuse me the right to just be "American" with white picket fences, but only "African-American" with the barb wires of the ghetto So tell me America, why do you hate me so?After centuries of enslavement, and decades of a burdened soulWhat have I done to deserve the end of your rope?Are you trying to eliminate my kind, despite my proving that I’m better than your conscience shows?Oh, America, just remember that we were once kings and queens in a land of gold. What do you fear so? Remember, Ms. America, that I never asked to be here; YOU were the one that kidnapped me from my motherland three centuries ago. Sincerely,A young black immigrant