Even if it’s a crack 

 

 

How poc are held under the debris

Of the buildings built by their hand

On the land that America’s history -will never understand

The contributions made 

Will never be relayed

For the heart of the man in power

Does not care if he overpowers
- Amira B

from the Declaration of Independence to the Constitution,

from racial segregation to persistent police murders,

the United States has failed to live up to its ideals and values of freedom, equality, and equal opportunity,

 yet they continue to cast this illusion of the American Dream that consist of the white picket fence,

America has given people of color the illusion of equal opportunity and equal treatment of its citizens, 

for the average black man to have to be worried about being pulled over by the police and facing a loaded barrel to the face filled with fear in his heart wondering if he’s going to make it out of this alive or not, 

but instead of hearing a loud gunshot go off, 

he hears the sound of a pen writing on a piece of paper for a $90 fine and a “have a nice day” in the end, 

rights and liberties for those of color we deem as an illusion,

like a dream that we believe will come true but will never become a reality,

what is it like for you to graduate from UMES knowing that you have fully embraced your right to procure life, liberty, and happiness? 

The intended goal is of what I mention

You shall exhibit lawfully as I please 

Now, for you shall never leave

Morning rise, to the coming of dawn 

A bleak environment you’re surrounded of

As you fixate rather on this notion;

Of one that you’ll some day be of me 

Rather, i’ll always be the queen bee

My honey bee, you’ll always work for me

You contest, you argue, you demand with your brethren 

Now we ignore the square root of all problems

 As I continue on my path to devour 

For some day there won’t be enough to replenish 

All the destructions that will ultimately make us perish

As we fight for equal rights…

A girl is kidnapped and her body is sold into her future as a sex slave because her society decided that’s all she was worth.

A woman enters the workforce with twice the education but half the pay because her gender automatically demotes her to a lower grade.

A girl takes her life after she was told by society that she was asking to be brutally attacked and raped because she chose to wear a dress to the party.

As we fight for equal rights…

A woman spends six months in the hospital because she didn’t respond to a catcall and that’s inexcusable, who doesn’t say thank you to a compliment?

A girl is taught that instead of learning science and reading she should learn that she is simply a piece of property and a commodity.

A woman is denied a raise to gain equal pay because the only thing women should be asking for is permission to their own bodies.

As we fight for equal rights…

A girl pursues a career in film, and even though she can direct, act, and write, her most useful asset is her body because sex sells and films by women don’t.

A woman is told her worth is determined not by her thoughts, feelings, or achievements; rather, her worth is up to her husband and father.

As we fight for equal rights

Someone undoes all progress made because of their ignorance, arrogance, and inability to see its importance.

It’s time that we no longer just fight, but also protect, inform, and rewrite.

Stop considering this perfection and make an objection.

The sound of my people losing their breath

Innocent people being put to rest

Being human is the same as you and I

This is something all people should be able to see with an naked eye

For centuries this situation has caused many problems

And yet I don’t see many people trying to solve them

Families and friends I could not bare

To lose any of them  in any warfare

Why is life like this?

Why can’t it just be fair?

Being able to walk into neighborhoods without getting weird stares

I want to be alive just like you and I

But because the color of our skin

You’d rather take our lives

Our protectors don’t protect us
As we try and defend ourselves

They think its ok to shoot as we are considered a threat
We are hated by many, but we still stand strong 

We are loved by many, but we still stand strong 

We are treated as if we were nothing 

Embrace the different shades 

Ebony, Mahogany, Sable, Chestnut 

Every shade of color has been compared through the decades 

Their thoughts trapped them and try to strangle them til they’re too weak but guess what

They expose their scars and continue to prevail 

Their hearts are like a fragile newborn 

Their minds are blocked like a flooded trail 

Souls can no longer be torn 

 

 Embrace the different shades 

Pave the way for the future ahead 

Words and actions will no longer be thrown around as if they’re grenades 

But love and amicability will be spread instead

some say it’s a scam 

some say it isn’t 

is it a sham?

To be in debt for going to school

getting an education

pursuing the dreams, you’ve always had

 

Student loans are like that person who won’t leave you alone 

when you’ve told them multiple times you want nothing to do with them

Draining

you and your bank account 

losing count

of the days until they’re paid off

 

Delaying

the plans you had for your life

that car, that house, your wedding

So with that…

sham or following your dreams?

it all depends on how you see it

your call 

She matters 

She has power

She has worth 

She matters

She will rise just like the sun and the moon

She is smart

She matters 

She isn’t just a shape she’s multidimensional 

 

She cares for the man but

Why don’t they tell us?

You say you see me when I come to school in cleaned clothes.

You say you see me when my parents bought me a car.

You say you see me when I moved into a newly built house.

You say you see me when I just got my hair and nails done.

You say you see me when I act out like a clown.

You always say you see me.

As if you know me.

You say you see me but you never see what happens behind closed doors.

You say you see me but never question why I always wear long sleeves.

You say you see me but assume why I come to school depressed and sad.

You say you see me but don’t understand why I stay at school till 7pm.

You say you see me but don’t understand why there is nobody to support me at sport games.

You say you see me but ignore the caked makeup and huge glasses I wear on my face.

You say you see me but questions why I went from an honors student to this.

You say you say you see me as if you don’t see with your very own eyes.

You say you see me but don’t hear the names they call me.

You say you see me but don’t understand I think I’m a failure to life.

You say you see me but don’t see the welts and bruises that I hide both inside and out.

You say you see me but don’t see me cry in the back of class.

You say you see me but don’t hear my stomach grumble from the days it’s been since I ate.

You say you see me but ignore me breaking out into hot anxious filled sweats from hearing my parents name. 
You say you say you see me as if I don’t scream the signs of what this is.

You said you see me.

Do you see me now?

Which we exploit and destroy into millions of shards, 

If to deceive, is to rearrange the broken pieces so it becomes grand, 

Then, with a small fragment, it will become believable and not left disregard. 

Let us feed them snakes till the venom corrupts their mind, 

Their soul lifeless like a wooden puppet we can use for our display, 

Thus form a façade to conceal our greatest design, 

Let us make them think they are the masters when they are the fools of our own play. 

Let us enjoy the show as crimson blood spills across the filthy ground, 

Let us encourage their foolishness as bright, red flames burn skyscrapers under the sky so dire, 

Let us celebrate their folly as they believe our deceptions while the truth still unfound, 

Their reasoning lost in the depths of an ocean trench, and the bodies we now control when desired. 

Let them think the system is the enemy when we are the true enemy.

Soon all of them will become our pawns and it will all burn like the city of Troy. 

And a crooked stem to boot

It's not the flowers fault 

That it doesn't think its cute

It doesn't think its worth the time of day or even rain

So when the sun shines, it hides away in shame

It thinks the love that it deserves will only bring more pain

But i need it to know its a blessing and not some evil bane

I wake and give the flower just a little bit of rain

Hoping that it comes out after the full moon wanes

It thinks itself ugly and deserving of its pain

But I vow to give this flower all the love it can’t obtain.