Let’s review…

You brutally kidnapped us and forced us to work, and when we resisted

You threatened us…

And you raped our women, and sold us like cattle, and when we cried foul

You beat us…

And you punished our men for protecting our women, and when we protested

You sold us…

You said we were violent, and savage and brutal, and when we denied it

You maimed us…

And you started a war, to keep us enslaved, and when you lost

You blamed us…

You equated our “freedom” to that of loosing a horse, but when we didn’t want to be your animals

You shushed us…

And we cried out loud for equal rights….but instead of agreeing

You muted us…

So we took to ourselves, created our own towns, and tried to live life anew

But you hunted us…

And you created a club, but covered your faces, and when we were discovered

You hanged us…

With just a point of the finger, from the women you knew (and were prone to abuse), you stole our men away.

Such an act was reminiscent of what we’d already been through, and when we cried out

You chained us….

So we tried to educate our own, in our own buildings, with the promise of it being equal.

But you kept all our books, put us in terrible structures, and when we lamented…

You bullied us…

Surely, our votes would make a difference, if only we could get in the booth, but when we attempted

You denied us

So we marched, protested, signed petitions, found support, and when we did this

You harmed us…

But then we had one
he preached us together;
Calling an end to the injustice

But he was a“troublemaker”…

So you shot him…

then smeared us

And you denied us the right to equal pay, and when we pointed it out

You jeered us…

And you thwarted our rights to jobs we were qualified for, and when we demanded changes

You hated us…

You denied us housing, and when we demanded better, you gated your communities

And blocked us…

And when relegated to our side of town, we started to thrive, but then you came in

And poisoned us…

And we took to the airwaves to sing of our pain, or rhythmically state the conspiracies.

But you banned us
Then labeled us
Made deals, then betrayed us

…and when your youth loved our music.

..you framed us…

And we realized

some of those white hoods from earlier have turned blue.

…but you have us convinced that that’s our fault too.

You spat on our daughters,
You branded our sons
You carted our fathers away

And when our mothers called for assistance to get back on their feet, you agreed to do that

Then you shamed us.

And some of us took to a non-violent hustle, in some ways to make ends meet

But you arrested us,
put us in prison
…and you threw away the key

And convinced a society that the mass incarceration saved them because this product was ruining our country

…And then you took that same product….and legalized it

So our new generation tired of such antics, and tired of being your targets

And we are loud
And We march
And we rally
And we sit

And we kneel…

And you accuse us…
Of being ungrateful
Of playing the cards you dealt us

That’s called gaslighting

You psyched us….

And no matter if we have facts, or statistics, that prove what you say is untrue…
You control the narrative, because you wrote it…it’s the oppressor’s point of view

You call us violent
You say we deserve it
You say it’s our fault
Because of our history

And yet,

We fear going to the movies…
We fear our places of worship…
We fear outdoor concerts…
We fear our shopping malls…
And we fear going to school..
And we fear sending our children to school…
And we fear working at school…

…because you might show up….with your undiagnosed, and quite possibly non-existent “mental illness.”

But,

You still blame us.

You blame us…..and you’re still armed…
We’re usually not…but we don’t live to tell about it.

Because you created a myth of who we really are…. right after you stole us.

This is your M.O.

You did it to the locals before you came and got us.

And we know you’ll continue to blame us…

But just for the record

it’s not us

It’s you.

How’s that for a historical resume review?

-Danita LaShelle