Black Boy

What do you hear when you hear

Young black African American Teenage boy

It surely can't be joy

Because like everyone else he’s chasing to fill a void

The void in his identity

The one that's not stereotypical

But the stereotype that he can flip precisely

Like He did in math with reciprocals

Wait but he is categorized... prioritized

In a light that shouldn't be immortalized

Don't you know that vision got him mortified

when you hear young black male

What do you hear again

Gunshots,from the gutter

Protecting his single mother

With no father and distant brother

Do you hear the sound of his hands abruptly twisting into some sort of sign language

That represents a brotherhood

The only family that you hear he is associated with

is the one they show on T.V.

The one they call gang

The blood stains they broadcast to overshadow his true identity

The same blood stains that overwrite peace and his serenity

I mean I must ask what do you see when you hear about me

Is he just that poor kid from the streets

That poor kid with the lack of resources

That walks outside  barefeet

The one that struggles to eat

So he hit licks and sell weed

Do you see that he is only good for two things, Athletics and Music

He could be me and I am seen as he according to society

What if you saw me in a different light, a true light

Yes I’m in the same circumstances

but I don't let my circumstances determine my life

I am from the hood, I do live in a single parent home

With my mother and two brothers

I don't know who my father is because I was left fatherless

From the side of the family full of gangbangers and high school dropouts

Wait this kid goes to private school

With the tools to succeed in an educational classroom

He has a 3.3 gpa and honorary pins to match

He doesn't bang but serves the city of memphis rather than a gang

The one that has been on a mission trip to the Dominican Republic

Just to serve God and save lives

People might think This can't be true… Unheard of

The only African American male student ambassador in the school

The vice president of the national honor society

In a society that set his goals for him

But no his goals are disdain from what people want

And it defies the law of societal perspectives

Now what do you see when you see me

You see him with a mom caring enough to care about his education

With brothers admiring his admirations

Because they desire to be even better than him

You see him surrounded by a family who supports and disciplines him

You see he is loved and protected by the grace of God

I mean look at his surroundings

He is in the trenches where he has been pummeled by fist

Startled by guns and have seen people get cuffed by the law everyday

You yeah you see a brave young man with the essence of an hardened mentality

A strong minded individual with the ability to embrace his individuality

He has the ability to say things like

“I will not let my circumstances determine my outcome

I refuse for my life to be in vain

I refuse to drink alcohol

Even Though I am surrounded by drunkards

I refuse to do drugs

even though I have been offered numerous of times to sell and do drugs at the street corner

I refuse to defy the law even though I see cops abusing my people

I’m only licensed to be me without any limitations

I’m not just the cliche African American teenage boy, I’m Darius Jamal Anderson The

African American teenage boy”