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