United We Stand

What does it mean to be black?

What are some of the things that we’re are expected to do?

Then imagine being a black woman,

It just may change your world view.

Think of some of the expectations that we’re supposed to uphold,

Whether that be beauty or education, or the stories that our ancestors have told.

Whether it is the way we are treated in the workplace,

Or when people tell us “this isn’t your space”.

Sure, it’s not all bad, being black has it’s perks.

We have gravity defying hair,

Which is one thing that makes us culturally diverse.

Looks set aside, we are all human beings.

Sure we may have our differences,

But that is a part of living.

I hope that when you look in the mirror, you like what you see,

Because it’s a reflection of you staring back through me.

We all are different, we don’t buy from the same brand,

But we can be proud together because United We Stand.

As the clocks turn, like an axle on a car, it seems like we went from,

Separation, to segregation, to incarceration,

Ugh, how it weakens all the generations!

Erasing all of our ancestry,

Without a trace, left like a crime scene.

While everyone else can say I know my great great great grandfather,

We don’t even know our father, he’s someone we’ve barely seen.

We try to find happiness in money, cars, and clothes,

But can you blame us? That’s all we really know!

All you see on bright and blinking screens is consume, consume, all of this, you need

Be this, be that, while you cater to our greed

We get so caught up in what media says to do that sometimes we never get a chance to ask ourselves,

Are you being the real you?

Then we take a look back, wayyy back to the boats

When we were forced to conform, fearing a noose to our throats

Getting branded, broken-down, beaten just for things that we know

Oh your name is Okoro? Well, now it’s Joe

But sir this is name that was given to me

From my mother and my father that’s my family, you see

Like a prince is to a king, I am their legacy

How dare you, don’t you dare get one step closer to me

As for you and all your people, you are mere property

You would think with all the atrocities that we have overcome as a race

Dealing with problems in the present still wouldn’t be the case

Young black girl all alone, separated, segregated confused and shun

No place in history for me to belong, young black girl all alone

Beautiful, kind, educated too, still looked upon as a less than Jigaboo

Assumed I have No education, assumed I have no class,

only looking at my skin color and sometimes my a...you fill in the blank.

I can read and write just like you boo, but you assume I only know two plus two.

You expect me to be on my hands and knees, saying sorry sir, if you please

You expect me to wear my hair just right, no kinks you see or it’s not tight.

My culture claps and speaks real loud and it offends you how we get down

But, if I chose to speak with proper diction, I’m also looked upon as a contradiction

What is acting black? What is acting white? I’m just speaking in hinds sight.

That day is over, long and gone, we are here to stay

We are ready for whatever battles that may come our way,

We stand proudly against systemic racism, and sexism too

having people think that twerking is all that we know how to do,

We are much more than that, beauty and brains alike

If you would only open up your mind to see what’s inside

No matter your skin color, gender or class, we all want to state our claim,

That we are more alike than different, we are one in the same

Education is freedom whether you are red, black, or blue,

and we know that knowledge is power for me and for you

Let’s work together and believe that we can,

We will achieve our goals because United We Stand!

Mama always said get a good job, you can do anything

Do your best in school, go to college, get a job that pays a lot

But little do you know you’re dignity will be shot

In school they tell you “You can be whatever you want” “Make sure you do good on your SAT’s”

But did they forget that women are expected to fall to their knees?

Why don’t they teach this lesson in school?

I don’t remember this in my history or math class?

But always remember to only speak when spoken too and don’t give me sass.

Mama, my boss won’t promote me

Mama, I’m struggling to survive while my male counterparts live comfortably

Mama, I feel like I’m always running but they always catch up to me

Mama, they look at me like I’m a sex slave, nothing more than what’s underneath my blouse and skirt

Mama please help me, why do I always come to work and feel hurt?

And please don’t get me started on being colored and a woman

“Don’t wear your hair natural, it’s distracting”

“You’re a mad black woman, your temper is not fit for an executive”

And even though my degrees are impeccable and my list of accomplishments can be long and dreary

Because of the melanin that’s in my blood and the science that sits between my thighs it makes me scary

What do you perceive when I say beautiful?

1926 to 1962: Marilyn Monroe

1979 to 2001: Aaliyah

1981 a queen was born: Beyonce

As they say “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” but how can a woman feel beautiful if she always has to look over her shoulder?

We erase perfections with deception and beauty with lies

Women are shamed for not being a certain size

They give each other standards and they say that we do not look right, sometimes I wonder do humans say it out of spite?

They hate when people parade around and be their self, but little do they know they are not trying to be someone else.

Taunted by the mirror which is our own reflection

Oh what a shame it’s like were filled with infection

And shame for the ones that write it all over our faces

Coming from different ethnicities and races.

From the roots of our hair to the color of our skin it doesn’t define what is within

I am woman who shouldn’t care about my weight but it is unsafe to find self beauty when your not a certain shape

I am woman who shouldn’t let the world give me standards on how I should be but it is hard to lock the door when society has the key

But.. I am just woman wanting to show my confidence and cognisance

Although I am a woman challenged on this land, divided we fall but united we stand!

Though we are different but similar in a way,

we shouldn’t let the world unravel what we say.

Although we are black woman and of different shades

We will never let our confidence and our dignity fade

And though we are black,

We have to face the facts.

We will always be different and significant,

But it’s up to us to decide if we are innocent.

We come together with each and every strand,

Together as one and United We Stand!