THE HATE U GIVE (THUG) SCHOLARSHIP SLAM

Life is an intricately woven mess Every action has a reaction But it’s not guided by any scientific rule The few words uttered to show disdain The judgments passed without any consideration

Life Worth Living

I first met him in a painful bodyI didn't have a plan for usI didn't have an idea for usI didn't know where we would go.

Are We Really That Different?

Humanity is blessed with a gift Of different cultures, different ideas Of uniqueness But are we really that different, you and I? That we don't deserve all the same rights as you do?

fears

I'm afraid of white women. I'm afraid of your accusations. Afraid because I fit every description for who your rapist, robber, or murder could possibly be.

A Need

Late at night, he waits, Frightened but hopeful, Terrified yet brave, His belief is undying, His belief for the future, His want for change,

Inner Self

I used to look in the mirror and thought - "Why am I such an ugly snot?", I would look at my body from head to toe, I wish that my body was moldable like dough, I would pull my pants up to cover my fat,

Milestone

Milestone Internalizing the turmoil helps me cope. When they look at me, they look through me, beyond me. I am nothing. I am something. A Struggle to Be, I am me.

We All Carry Fear

Everyone sees what you presentAnd most don’t care to see deeper -To see the depression and the anxiety

T.H.U.G. LIFE

Young black boys from the "Hood". Raised to be bad forget the good, often misunderstood, As their life has been different from yours And I still feel the pain,

Every Time a Woman Speaks

Quiet down, love. We know this is your passion and you stared this whole row but, darling, if you could, just keep it down right now. Sweetheart, sweetheart, please,

A Weapon You Cant Ever Take

A Weapon You Can't Ever Take by: Kaitlyn Whitner I own the most powerful weapon ever known to man Just like all other weapons It can be used for good or used for evil

America

Is this the new norm?Our people mourn,they ask for reform,then nothing is done. Will this ever end?No ways to defend,situations they can't comprehend,families distraught because of a gun.

Indignation

There’s a point when talking about it doesn’t make you feel better anymore.

How Can it Be?

How Can It Be? Lying in the dark most literally How Can It Be? Being judged every day How Can It Be? Well i don’t know I’ve never experienced it any other way How Can It Be?

To sit and watch

To sit and watch The oppressed are beginning to cry To sit and watch The watchers do nothing but lie To sit and watch Life for them is just one big held in sigh To sit and watch

Shots Fired

Bang! Bang! Shots rang And everyone came Gathered round to see who'd be the next name Added to the list of Black men Never to see the light of day again Because it had been stolen Robbed

Walk in my shoes

Walk in my shoes You don't know what I've been through But you act like you do You haven't carried my baggage But you act as if you have a clue

The Hate U Give Urself

Imagine this, you’re six years old, the playground ladder looks nice enough to fall off of. The bars are solid,

Apperances

Pale and blue-eyed they call me a gringa but that's not who I am. Some say that I'm lucky that I don't look like a stereotype, but we are people, not Jeopardy questions

It's Just Some Change

Anxious as doom arises, I am done Searching eyes hone in on mine, looking dead But there is no escape as change has won With its angry, hungry jaws, it is fed Initially, I was but a mouse squeak

The world in which we currently

The world in which we currently live can bring us down so we must stand up The world in which we currently see has taken its toll on people like you and me

cant run from it

cant run from it always a step behind the worst is im trapped in my own mind the end is near i cant keep trying stop asking if im okay im tired of lying my fake smile is getting heavy

how i feel right now

lost i guess and sort of empty i dont feel anything i dont care anymore about anything school,myslef, the people here, my parents i need everything to stop people,life

An Ode To Society

There’s something about our world that really irks me. I get so frustrated its starting to hurt me. So, let me take a minute to speak to you personally. We don’t live in a perfect world, there is no such thing.

The Eternal Staircase

To climb the eternal staircase Means that "enough is not enough". To look into the sun. To reach the top is bound

For the Victims

For the victims, I’m sorry. I’m sorry because your country has failed you, as it has failed countless others before you, and unless we make changes

SORE THROAT

I got sick today. My symptoms are HEADACHES exhaustion RUNNY NOSE heartache SNEEZING disillusionment COUGH sadness CONGESTION detachment SORE THROAT.

VOICE

Very tired of not being heard, Or being heard but always being misunderstood. Is the world just cruel or do I need to be more confident;

Self-Discovery

Splendid! You tried to block my path But you couldn’t handle the aftermath. Others are so quick to judge my ways I’m constantly praying for better days. I refuse to follow the rules of society

1:37 AM

My mind never sits still. So perhaps it’s my fault that everything we are, Morphs. Reorganizing itself against my skull Dissected a million times over into nail-sized pieces, A lab experiment.

The struggle (THUG)

When I was 13 I began to struggle Dealing with myself Was getting me into trouble No one knew what it was like to be trapped in my mind Stuck in a girl's body Stuck in this time

In Arms

Put down those guns To honor all of our sons Don’t have to be the one that shuns but instead, make the impact for a ton Don’t have to have the same beliefs

Who’s the Real THUG ?

To all the woman raising white babies, Are you raising your son in a country that is betting against him? Do you worry that your son is going to walk past an elder women and she clenches her purse? Is your son going to be constantly monitored

What Happened To Equality?

I remember a time - junior year This uneducated boy was talking off my ear He said horrible things about my culture He tried and tried to get me to rupture I jumped to my defense and said 'at least I'm not average

Justice

The justice system isn’t so just Liberty and Freedom for all is a must The land of the free and home to the incarcerated

The Challenge

Would I still stand up? Even if all are against me? Would I still help out? Even if my pockets are empty? Would I stand my ground? Even if the foundation is weak? Would I be willing to lose it all? Even if I'm at my peak?

A world where.....

When incorrect feelings cloud my thinking and it feels into darkness im sinking i just see a world where....where Cain had never did it, he tried to lift the rock but in his soul he felt convicted

Consumed

I can feel it inside; writhing, shrieking, tearing me apart. It’s frantic. It wants to escape, to be free from the combines of my feeble human body. My hands grip my ears, trying to block out its garbled, high-pitched plea.

How Dare You?

How dare you? You walk on this Earth as if you're perfect, judging me. I've made my mistakes, I've owned up to my faults. You walk on this Earth as if you're perfect, hovering over my mistakes.

Misconceptions

You claim to know all of my people but all you know are the lies that are fed to you. How can you say your expert when you can't take a second check on what's told to you?

Hurricane Maria

I took this image while volunteering in Puerto Rico after Hurrican Maria. Many families had to abanadoned their houses with no hope of returning. The level of help that we provided Puerto Rico with was unacceptable.

Silent Tears

Silent tears climbing down her cheeks They tickle a little as they sweep across her chin She sits and listens, She can almost hear them falling Their touch comforts her

We Fight for a Reason

Discrimination: The treatment of different categories of people or things, race, age, or sex, etc. Why do people hate and not forgive? Do they not wish peace of mind?

My Voice / How Did You Find It?

I searched for it - In the pieces of my broken heart, from the hollows of my soul You see, being comfortable with myself isn't something that I know But I try.

One Man Army