I’m not just black

I am extraordinary

Not your ordinary species that make up man-kind

But specially hand-crafted by the Creator,

A pure manifestation of his brilliant mind

Who painted the color of strength to my flesh as his signature design

I’m not just black

I am beautiful

Varying in all shades of brown

Proving that humans are not the product of evolution

But indeed we are the creation of the Creator who created us from the ground

And the only people with wooly-hair to wear freely as a crown

I’m not just black

I am royalty

I descended from the Levitical Priesthood

With legal rights to approach the throne

I was born and raised as a spiritual Jew

Because Jerusalem is my home

I’m not just black

I am a conqueror

Holding the valor and honor of the brave

The same spirit that made Pharaoh release his slaves

That paved a way for Harriet to lead her people underground to escape

I’m not just black

I am conscious and aware

That I can break the chains of self-hatred by embracing my kinky hair

I welcome my exotic features

My broad nose and thick lips

And the curve in my back that leads to the roundness of my hips

I’m not just black

I am resilient and ambitious

Quitting is not an option

Therefore failure is fictitious

I’m not just black

I am a woman

With permission to be phenomenal too

Destined to follow the legendary footsteps of Maya Angelou

I am not the color of my skin

I am not the texture of my hair

I am the voice that dares to hope for justice everywhere