Buried in Black Concrete: A Voice for Black on Black Crime
Editor’s note: This original Poem was written by Tristen Wade
I believe. Do you believe?
Let me repeat myself.
I believe that any barrier is inferior. We can achieve.
Let me walk through the process, I am solely one man
Yet my voice can ripple the thickest waters
And trim the grassiest lands.
What about YOU makes YOU afraid of ME?
Is it because I wear my shorts above my knees
Or that I speak with clarity, only to be criticized for feeling free?
Whoa guess I took a large step there, claiming to be free…
Still, I’m no slave to your mind as you aren’t a hindrance to me.
There’s strength in my minority. I can be anything I want to be.
Yet the only way for me to get a slither of respect is to jump through your hoops,
One false move and I’m considered the “whitest black dude.”
It’s your turn to watch your step before this white black dude loses his cool.
Don’t play the fool.
I see the way you stare at me as if we don’t belong to the same mother place
And I’m a disgrace. You’re forgetting the case that we both identify as African-American in race!
Did I get your attention? I hope so. I just need you to know that we’re the same.
I may not sag my pants or run a street scheme,
I always treat my sisters like young black queens,
But our differences are coated in the same melanin infused layer.
Be aware. Like it or not, that gives you a connection to me.
I love you. You’d better learn to love me.
We’ve got more important places for our attention to be!
We must help shine a light and fight this color blindness because it’s so hard to see
Through the thick layer of false knowledge and stereotypical barriers in this world,
We must run together to achieve the goals we’re fighting toward.
So don’t hurt me, young brother. Don’t judge me, lovely sister.
We share the same struggle. Experience the same racial twister
My true one desire is for you to understand
That you’re hurting your own kind, which is why you should take my dark hand and stand.
They say the Black Death killed a thousand and many more
But the Black Death is back again in a different form
So lets stand together, chins high, and walk upright
Break the degradable, ungrateful, fight prejudice (NOT EACH OTHER) with all our might.
We can do all things together, we can make it believable,
We can knock down your walls and make it rock like a base bellowing stereo.
We can shoot down your schemes and put an end to the ignorance.
We can TALK out our problems because education is our biggest diligence.
You just gotta believe that we can achieve through complex and discrete ulterior,
That’s why I don’t act oppressed because my life is worth more,
We were never actually inferior.
Meet The Author:
Tristen Wade, Public Relations Representative of Student Poetry Association.
