Melanin Recognition

I look back to a better me

The days where skin color didn't matter,

The days where all that mattered was staying out in the sun and smelling like outside,

The days where I used to run around on the playground shining like a brand new penny,

Well, least that's what my grandma used to say to me.

Melanin Recognitions are everywhere in the world.

Where being a little girl doesn't matter if you're black,

Where America sees you as a threat from the age of 5.

I remember the first time I was followed in a store.

7/11 on Main, not too busy for the average 7-11 day

But through the eyes of the clerk, my dark skin and black box braids looked hoodrat enough for me to rob his store.

For a black girl at the age of 14, I just wanted my strawberry lemonade.

Melanin Recognitions, I grew up quick.

After seeing Trayvon Martin's face plastered on CNN, my mindset switched.

I was growing to an age where black people weren't considered shit,

And if I didn't take care of myself, I would get popped quick.

Police brutality ringing through my ears,

I know my friends wish some of their brothers were still here.

Melanin Recognitions, being black ain't safe no more,

Melanin Recognitions, America said we were never safe.

Who knew 12 year old me was lucky enough to not be the first Tamir Rice,

But I'll forever chant his name for his justice all day and night.

Melanin Recognitions, black kids have to grow up.

Melanin Recognitions, if we don't, we're all caught up.

I remember the days where I wasn't automatically assumed to steal,

I remember the days where I was too young to be a threat.

18 years old, red dreads in my head,

I've been followed through Spencers, Kohl's, the same 7/11, damn this racist shit is dead.

As I get older, I definitely peep the changes,

The subtle nervous glances when I enter a room,

The white heads that turn to stare at me as I walk down the street,

The half-assed smiles that secretly hold an underlying meaning, I am not naive.

Melanin Recognitions, I'll only peep more with time,

Melanin Recognitions, these will stick for the rest of my life.