By Kadyn Washington, Virginia State University
My blackness is not subjected to just my melanin but what lies within
The innocence portrayed on my face that conflicted by the pain in my eyes and between my thighs
All tell the biography of my life
Being a double minority is a hell of a trip
Like I was born with shackles and a chastity belt
But hey that's the cards I’ve been dealt
I'm reduced to my curves that drive men crazy
But drives employers away
I'm expected to accept my own depression like an old friend from high school
Because if I show my pain I’m broken
But if I don’t, no man would accept me because my feelings often go unspoken
I shouldn’t be subjected to the kinks and curls in my hair just because it doesn’t lay as flat as theirs
To bringing the brush when my mom asked for the comb
Or waking up with a headache because my scarf was on too tight
To being called white just cuz my skin is kinda light
MY BLACKNESS is not up for discussion
you can either have all of me or you can have nothing
Because I am a black woman as you can see
People have such strange expectations for the girls with the melanin skin
I say how can you hate from the outside of the club when you can’t even get in?