Who Shall I Be?

 It seems like culture and race

Has been mixed up and it’s all over the place

Because the pigment of my skin

Should not tell you where I should blend in

I am me I am Diverse

I am not 1

I am not 2

I am not 3

I am variety

This is what makes me me

This is what constantly builds up my cultural identity

Legos on top of Legos blocks on top of blocks

I’m a suitcase I am moving around

I’m not staying in one place

I’m not packed up with the same elements in

Every scenario or case

Because I, I am variety

The pigment of my skin

Should not tell you I like to eat fried chicken

Yes, yes, yes this a stereotype

And I’m here to tell you that, that is incorrect

The pigment of my skin

Should not tell you I should be a little ghetto

Here and then

Dialect has nothing to do with color

The pigment of my skin

Should not tell you the identity I should be given

Culture my friend is chosen not given

So here’s a call out to the stereotype towards the Hispanic race

Because I swear to you if they don’t like spicy foods it okay

Here’s a call out to everyone that believes white is a language

Not it is not!

Here’s a call out to everyone who makes fun of me

Reciting the joke “I know you’re good at b-ball right?”

‘Cuz African American

African Americans equals

Steal, shoot and run

You, yes you, you have

Placed this, this sheet over me

You have drawn on me

Written on me

Labeled me

You have given me my so called identity

But I

I am not what you have put me out to be

Stereotypes stereotypes wiping it away I have no room for you inside of my suitcase

I am different I am variety

What you, what you have

Labeled me to be is nowhere equal to my cultural identity

Your equation

Your equation is insolvable!

Equation, equation X out X out

That’s not me.

‘Cuz I guarantee you the color of my suitcase has

Remained the same, but I

What is in the inside has

Changed dramatically over time

Because I

I am diverse

not 1

not 2

not 3

So far in my lifetime I’ve moved from place to place

I’ve been to more schools than I can count on my fingers and toes

I’ve seen more teacher than any of you knows

If only you knew, if only you started to unzipped my suitcase slowly, real slow

You would see I’m packed up with a manifold of things

things my journey has handed to me.

Not given to me but handed to me

My suitcase has wheels and its wheeling me around

Rolling me into things that are new. Handing me things that

has been defined as diversity

This, this is me

This is the story of my Cultural Identity