“Behind The Stare”

 

Microaggressions, subtle but present

Waiting and waiting for the words to escape your mouth.

“Speak your mind!”, but all you do is stare.

As if how I look is a problem that you cannot find the answer to.

NO!

This nappy hair does not have the same roots as you.

& NO!

I’m not mad at you, I’m mad at your ancestors

And how you think what you have is not a product of what they did.

And how you act like what mine had to go through

Doesn’t benefit you to this day

But still, you say,

“Slavery was almost 200 years ago. Why are we still talking about this?”

Because everytime I see a board of professionals,

there’s only one or two black people there…

Because everytime I turn on the tv to watch a show,

There’s only one or two black people there.

& God forbid that I’d ever disagree with anything you say

Because your response would be, “You people.”

& God forbid that I would ever verbalize how much

I love my hair and my wonderfully dark skin

Because your response would be a stare

of curiosity, confusion, and a hint of disapproval.

A stare that screams,

“there’s no actual way that he could think that looks nice.”

Because either you are scrutinizing my differences or you’re ignoring them.

As if my life being heavily affected by historical events is not worth your notice.

You roll your eyes when the topic of racism is brought up in a class

you never thought you’d have to talk about it in.

You have to sit there and listen

as the educated Black minds of the present speak up

for the silenced Black voices of the past.

You hate that the tools given to humanity are useful for us, too.

You hate that the women of the Black community can now use their voices

boastfully, so you call them angry.

You hate that the presence alone of a Black man demands respect,

so you find a weapon to make them run the other way.

You hate that we were able to make it into the most desired

office in America for two terms

so you sent Goliath.

With his giant racist comments

and his giant wall

and his giant aggression against people that

have put in more work for this country than he ever has

But still, you stare.

Because you know that your giant depravity will be overtaken by our giant royalty

So you stare

Because you know the David on the inside of us will rise to do the impossible.