Why should my color define me?

I am human like everyone else

I live, I walk, I breathe, and I talk like any other

So, why should my color define me?

I go to school just like everyone else

I work like everyone else

Why should my color define me?

Is it because of my ambition?

Or is it because of my people's past?

What makes me anymore different than the next person?

I breathe the same oxygen as them

I create magnificent wonders just like them

I may even be just as successful as them

So, what's the difference?

Why should my color define me?

Is it because of the way I look?

The curves that travel along my body as if I'm a winding hill?

Is it the way the way that my hair kinks up after it hasn't been touched in a while?

Or, maybe it's the way that I praise my God

Singing the rhythmic hymns and sounds that my dear ancestors had given to me

Why should my color define me?

Is it the beauty that comes with this strong will?

Is it my courage that scares you?

Or is it the power in me that packs the greater knowledge?

Do I scare you?

Is that why you labeled me before I was even born?

Is that why you take my father, my brothers, my cousins, my uncles, my friends away from me?

Throwing them into your cages and calling it "justice served"?

You claim that I am free

But, I am not yet free

Why?

Because you let my color define me...