America
We have been looked down upon
Due to the color of our skin
For our melanin is equal to being a thug
And our innocence is ignored
Our melanin costs us our lives
For the fear etched into the hearts of many
Will not be undone, but instead intensified
Since the media’s portrayal of black boys and black girls
Is nothing more than “Baby Mamas” and “Baby Daddies”
The war on black youth is not ceasing
It’s quite odd that we have been dealing with the same issues of race
In this “land of the free” for decades
Yet we’re still going no where
Police brutality is among us
For unarmed black teens are being gunned down for the same fear
Installed into the minds, bodies, and souls, of those who are
Wary of the black community
As are the ones who are sworn in to protect us
Our innocence does not matter
Our lack of arms does not matter
For this country has been built on a foundation of lies
Based on the needs and necessities of the white man
Trayvon Martin, a Junior in High School
Was gunned down by a fearful, racist mixed white man
And the media will still release drama and photos
That portray him as nothing more than a thug,
Which people associate with the entire black community,
Yet Dylann Roof, a 21 year old white male who killed
Not one,
Not two,
But nine black people in a church because of the color of their skin
Is a “lone-wolf terrorist with a mental illness” who never received help
That does not symbolize the white community as a whole?
We claim to be the land of the free
But these racist actions are the shackles of our society