by Sha-Keiya Culzac
We are all victims of violence and fear Struck down on our backs Because they fear you, they want you to be broken. Broken, they break us down, lock us up and throw away the key The brand of injustice against bound skin Brown skin, dark skin, but to them not the right skin. Our men drenched in blood Painting our streets red The blood can’t help but be shed With staggering numbers dead As we sit back and do what They shoot us down So we won’t walk this Earth Basks in our own presence No they treat us like dirt Take away our freedom, try to put our mind in a cage. Mad cause they can’t put ropes and chains on our wrists so they put handcuffs instead We are the ones they choose to neglect The oath they forget Promised to protect the people of the city Except us … systematic oppression, aggression We find ourselves begging for mercy Lying on the ground Just Like Trayvon Martin Mike Brown Tamir Rice Sandra Bland I’m just as black as they were If I cry to you what about me Would you notice me ? Would you see me ? Does my black life not matter ? We out here screaming Black Lives Matter
Crying to a system that was never made for us A president that wants to forget us Cause how easy it is to forget When it’s not your loved ones being gun down in these streets left for dead, left to forget How easy it is to forget when the dead bodies don’t look like you. Justice system Freedom Hypocrisy Lies Guns But we are the threat, we are the ones Watching Black names on obituaries When Will it be enough When will they realize That the color of my skin is not a crime Being Black is not a crime Why do they hate us Is it because our melanin radiates in the sun? Is it because we are strong? Is it because this country was built on the backs of our ancestors? Or is it because we’re just BLACK You tell me which one.