Just because I’m African American

It doesn’t mean I should automatically be a target, or that I’m going to steal because I’m walking into a store, and it most definitely doesn’t mean that I’m dangerous for walking down the street

It doesn’t matter if you’re on duty or off duty

So don’t stop me, don’t touch me, don’t question me, don’t categorize me

Because I’m human despite of race, color, religion, or beliefs

We’re all skin and bones

And at the end of the day we’re all just trying to make it back home

So please don’t shoot me, get to know me first

 

Just because I’m Hispanic

It doesn’t mean I am illegal

And that even if I were to be illegal

It doesn’t mean I came to steal jobs, that I’m a criminal, a drug dealer, or that I come straight from Mexico

I’m Hispanic despite of where my roots come from

Many of us come looking for a better opportunity and education

Or better yet some of us don’t know any other place other than our surrounding location

I’m here for a reason and I won’t let what others think about me get in the way of my success

So don’t stop me, don’t touch me, don’t question me, don’t categorize me

Because I’m human despite of race, color, religion, or beliefs

And at the end of the day we’re all just trying to make it back home

So please don’t label me, get to know me first

 

Just because I’m from the Middle East

It doesn’t mean that I’m a terrorist, that I have hatred towards others who are not like me, and it certainly doesn’t mean that I kill

We are just like everyone else in this world, trying to make it out & build up our own lives

So don’t stop me, don’t touch me, don’t question me, don’t categorize me

Because I’m human despite of race, color, religion, or beliefs

And at the end of the day we’re all just trying to make it back home

So please don’t attack me, get to know me first

 

We all hurt.

So stop treating us like dirt.

We want equality.

So stop with the apologies.

We don’t hate, we love.

So stop with the lies that overrun.

Just like Martin Luther King Jr once said

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness;

only light can do that.

Hate cannot drive out hate;

only love can do that.”

 

So let’s unite, and hope others love us for who we truly are because living in this world can be a beautiful thing but it can also be a cruel one.

Many of us have suffered and have hurt because of the way others see us instead of getting to know us in the long run.

 

With this being said, this poem is dedicated to the people who have suffered or lost their life due to these circumstances.

Let’s have faith and hope that in the future, the actions of the people in this world advances.