If I Was White

Thu, 05/04/2017 - 12:53 -- mhow250

Sometimes I wonder what it’d be like if I was white
I believe my life would completely change if I was white
I wouldn’t be closely watched as I walk through a store, if I was white
People wouldn’t clutch there belongings when I stood near them, if I was white
My friends wouldn’t make jokes about my skin color, if I was white
I wouldn’t have to pretend like those jokes don’t bother me, if I was white
My girlfriend wouldn't have to specify my race, when she told her parents about me, if I was white.
People wouldn’t automatically assume I’m a thug, thief, gangster, poor, stupid, a rapist, a drug
dealer, a criminal, or a “Super Predator”, if I was white
And, yes, I talk about my skin color a lot
I state the obvious by mentioning my blackness a lot
But that’s because it’s always on my mind
I am constantly reminded everyday in a million large and small ways that I am different from the people around me
I'd be normal, if I was white
I wouldn’t have to worry about being killed by a cop for “not complying”, if I was white
It wouldn’t even be a question, that my life matters, if I was white
I wouldn't have to worry about the past becoming my future, if I was white
I wouldn’t have to worry about being white, If I was white.

This poem is about: 
Me
My community
My country
Our world

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