Teacher

Teacher,

This topic in class makes me wish

That I was sitting in math

Because how are you going to teach me

About my history?

Do you know what it feels like

to walk around in this skin?

Do you know what it feels

like to be a disgrace?

And do you know how it feels

to want to be born with a different race?

And If you don't then don’t teach me my history.

Don’t tell me all these race stories ain't nothing but a mystery.

Its something wrong with this system.

Got All these teachers trying to teach me about when I gained my wisdom.

And Just because I’m a Negro

Doesn’t necessarily mean that Martin Luther King is my hero

Teacher,

Do you know how it feels to

Sit in a class full of minorities?

But yet are still not one of the main priorities.

And find yourself defining what is beauty.

Would you know how it feels to be "pretty for a black girl"?
Or have your culture stripped of its nutrients?

You wouldn’t know

Because you aren’t me.

You don’t have to wake up

wanting everything to be a dream.

Teacher,

Do you know how it feels to walk into the class

And everybody stares?

And you aren’t sure if they are looking at the color

Of your skin or the texture of your hair

Because it’s never done.

It’s never done, but

I am done with you blaming me for talking

And disrupting the class.

Even though it wasn’t me

You just blamed me because I’m the

Only black girl sitting in the back.

And you act like I’m just a shadow,

But when something goes wrong

I'm the award-winning delinquent to your detention slip.

Teacher.

Why do you only notice the bad in me?

I’m not even bad it’s just the bad you see,

You don’t see me as a person.

You see me as a genre of people that were hurting.

And now I’m hurting

Because what you taught me about “myself”

I feel like I’m worthless

But I am worth it.

Because you taught me how to speak up

for myself

even in situations I feel like

I’m going to explode in.

Teacher,

You taught me to accept who I am

By listening to what you said,

You said that I was only capable of

Laying on my back,

I don’t know if you said it because

You don’t like me or because I’m black.

Black is beautiful

And so is our history,

But there always seems to

Be information missing.

It’s time to speak up,

Caus’ Little Black girl

I don’t know about you, but

I’ve had enough.

Teacher,

It’s my turn to teach you

About being a teacher.

Teaching is not about the job

it’s about what you believe in,

And what I believe is you need to

Stop washing out what’s already

Build with color.

No matter what happens Lil’ black girl

Speak up because

no one else should suffer.