28 Days of February

I know I’m a month late
But my black history shouldn’t have a date
See my ancestors didn’t work plantations annually
They were hung, bladed, whipped, masked and thumb screwed continuously
And Martin Luther King Jr. didn’t say we gonna march for 30 days
Then we’ll be on our way
No he fought for the freedoms we have today
All we recognize is where we came from
What about the black inventors missing from our curriculum?
I’m tired of hearing about Christopher Columbus and Robespierre to name some
You like potato chips? What about George Crum
Or Dr. James E West inventor of the mic
For those of you who like Justin Bieber and Lana Del Rey great artist...Sike
And to all the sistas out there, who like sleekhair
You wouldn’t have that if Garrett A Morgan wasn’t their
not to mention traffic signals and gas masks, but you probably don’t care
Neither do you give a second thought to Marie Van Brittan Brown
who made Home Security to keep your home safe and sound
or to Benjamin Banneker who made the first thing that goes tic-toc
And George Washington Carver made 300 peanut products
What about this one true saint
Dr. Charles Drew who invented the blood bank
or the glasses that makes you see 3-D
that idea belongs to Kenneth J. Dunkley
Lastly Dr. Philip Emeagwali inventor of the world's fastest computer
But all we see in the media is us being chased by cop shooters
All I ask is to see one of us in a school page
Other than coloring books with black guidelines locking us in a white cage
That always wants us imprisoned, or slaves
because I already know so much about them and appreciate that me they did save
but we all know that inventors are the saviors of the future
so curriculum can we start with the man who made the world's fastest computer?

Sincerely,

               Lauryn S.

This poem is about: 
My community
Our world
Poetry Terms Demonstrated: 

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