I’ll make my voice heard

Diary of Anne Frank, Tuesday 11th April 1944

What does it mean to be black?

Being black is getting killed because you wore a hoodie on the street

Being black is getting killed because you played with a toy gun

Being black is getting killed because you wore a mask

Being black is getting killed because they thought it was a gun

Being black is getting killed because you are mentally ill

Being black is getting killed because

they’re afraid of you

because if you’re black and you get killed

they don’t care

because if you’re black

you’re just a thug

you’re threatening

intimidating

suspicious

you’re a criminal

it doesn’t matter if you think you’re innocent

because you already committed the crime

of being

Black

they call us violent and ghetto but they love our culture

our hair and our fashion

our music and slang

our vibes and our food

they want our rhythm but not our blues

it’s the same story every time

the way they talk about it on the news

‘unarmed black man shot by white cop’

how many more times?

how many more deaths will it take for change?

i’m tired

i’m tired of hearing about it

we’re fed up

fed up of the cops killing our brothers

fed up of the doctors not believing our mothers

fed up of this system failing us again and again

fed up of innocents being locked up in pen

they say slavery ended but we’re still stuck in this mess

when another one’s killed we just hope for the best

we’ve been fighting too long

but they don’t care

why?

because we’re

Black

By SOLIANA, 15.

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