"All lives matter," they respond, 

as thousands of black and colored people across the country 

protest and rage against the countless injustices

that have been brought upon black men and women

by white police officers in modern-day America.

 

We hold up signs and shout, "Black Lives Matter," 

on behalf of Michael Brown,

Eric Garner,

Sandra Bland,

Freddie Grey,

Alton Sterling,

Philando Castille,

and the many others

that were thrown under the rugs of our social media platforms,

whose names are forgotten by the millions

that don't even try to remember.

 

We rage on behalf of the young black boys and girls

that are raised with a mindset based on fear;

that walk the streets of their own hometowns

anxious and afraid 

that they might be stopped for simply

walking to the store with a hoodie on

by an officer with his hand readily placed

on the hip where his gun rests.

 

We rage on behalf of those who are

routinely faced with what some may regard as 'casual racism', 

and to those who are faced with not-so-casual racism:

those who hear the word "nigger"

under the breaths of the ignorant white woman

who is afraid to walk next to you on the sidewalk 

and call the police on you for seeming dangerous.

 

We rage on behalf of the bullets

wasted on innocent lives

and the blood that is spilled

across the floors labeled "equality,"

and sprayed across the walls labeled "freedom"

painting our country in red.

No more white, no more blue.

 

They respond, "All lives matter,"

as we weep for the pile of

dark-skinned bodies that lay unnoticed,

for the mother whose son 

left this world much too early,

for the 15-year-old boy whose father

was shot multiple times point blank 

before he gets the chance to explain himself.

 

We rage at the Declaration of Independence 

that states the most notorious lie that

"All men are created equal," 

when really,

All straight, white men are created equal.

 

We rage at the white criminals 

who have committed far worse crimes

and face much simpler consequences

and much better treatment:

the school shooters who are dismissed 

with having mental illnesses 

rather than being labeled as murderers,

the rapist who faces 4 months in jail

becuase "he'll never be able to swim again",

and the police officers who are not charged 

for unnecessarily murdering and harming 

human beings.

 

We rage at the fact that there are

several accounts of physical evidence

as well as eye witnesses to the

injusteces against colored people,

and yet no real action has been taken

from the authorities. 

 

We rage at the system

for designing itself

to fail minorities,

to unhear our arraigning voices,

to unsee the truth,

to redefine justice as something 

that can only be served on a platter of privilege

to those of certain skin tones

and to those with certain incomes. 

 

We rage because we 

are still regarded as "free"

when maybe,

none of them would've died

if they didn't act so free.

 

We shout "Black Lives Matter,"

at the top of our lungs

because we live in America:

Land of the Free, Home of the Prejudiced.

 

And they respond, "All lives matter,"

as the bullets continue to fly through their bodies,

and the blood continues to stain our floors.