You tell me this is the land of the free

The land of opportunity

Then why do I see

oppression all around me?

Why has a country so great

Been unable to rid itself of hate?

Where do we find that superiority

That allows us to forget our humanity?

Why do the rich forsake the poor?

Why do we want to close our doors?

Why does the color of your skin

Matter more than the work you put in?

Why do we need the election of a bigot

To make us see the serious problem we’ve got?

Why do you wonder, in shock, in surprise,

“How is America still racist?”

Come on. Just face it.

This is what you get

When you have a country built on

The enslavement, oppression, dehumanization, suppression

Of real human beings.

This is what you get

When you don’t repent

For the crimes you’ve committed

For the lives you’ve ruined.

This is what you get

When you replace slavery

With institutional racism and inequality.

You don’t address the problem,

You deny it.

You want to believe America is great

So you choose not to see it.

Open your eyes and recognize

There’s a problem here that runs deep.

There was Trayvon staring down the barrel of a gun,

There were Indian men shot in a bar.

All this because of your hate,

Because you don’t see that America isn’t so great.

Go read the Constitution,

Learn about our institutions.

We’ve deviated so far from our founding ideals

It doesn’t even seem real.

Recognize your inherent privilege,

Take a minute to realize,

There is no justification for your crimes.

You are not better than the rest of us.

Instill in your children love not hate.

Recognize, realize, repent, repay.

This is the only way.