good white people say they don’t understand racism
confused by how someone can tense up just by the color of skin
confused by how someone can feel fear just by the amount of melanin
but they’ve never had to protect children from stereotypes
witness the confusion that fills their eyes
when they wonder how people can look at them with such demise
they’ve never felt fear from meeting their friends parents
wondering if they were ones who “don’t see color”
but really just use it as an excuse to ignore the the pain that i suffer
maybe i got “lucky” and even got to meet their grandparents
and see the look in their eyes shift as i walk in
as they reflect on all the slurs they used to publicly call people with my skin
ignorant people say “oh but the laws say you can do anything”
while covering their ears when i try to educate them
laws don’t change people’s minds
it just tells them to keep their thoughts buried inside
your grandparents watched the news as they made segregation illegal
and reminded them that their god didn’t make all skin tones equal
some people will whine and complain
saying we don’t really fight for equality
since they can’t say the word that they say we say with such jollity
do you live the black american experience
then that is why you can’t say the word that is being hinted
but i grew up around black people
but there is a difference between living and just hearing what others experience everyday
i don’t ask you to apologize for the color of your skin
but i do ask you to apologize for not being able to listen whenever black people try to have a conversation
because your white guilt has closed your ears
and not listening to us voice our lives
is what causes this cycle to continue
and what allows so many to die
good white people say they don’t understand racism
but they’ve never had to live the experience of a black american
