Who?
I am 17 years old, top 100 in my class
I am 5' 11" 165 pounds, with an athletic build
I am a Junior in high school with dreams of becoming an engineer
I live on a quiet street in the suburbs
I pay for school lunch every day
I am a captain, on the speech team
I am an adequate dresser
I wear glasses without lenses
I wear boots because I can
I wear Jordan's because I can
I wear a shirt and tie when I can because it makes me feel good
I used to live in what some call "the ghetto"
Ebonics is my second language
I was raised on the Queens English
I'm always complimented on my articulation, never my intelligence
I'm often told I act white, don't really know what that means
I read the news and feel disgusted, I wonder when that will end
I wonder what I should call my race, it seems to change with each person I speak to
I have been called a nigger many times before,
But I've never been harassed by the police,
I've been watched in many stores before,
Though I've never been interrogated
I find myself called African-American
I thought I was American
I don't know what to call myself, though I will accept my name,
My name carries many races, many cultures
But I don't know what to claim as my own
I now refute the title American, it no longer means the same thing,
I have however found that others seem to know exactly what I am
How I'm not sure, but they all seem to know
So if you could please indulge me, tell me
Who do you think I am?
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