About race…
The story of race is one that is not easily told and often misunderstood. In an attempt to simplify this journey, we will begin with a poem. Each stanza is meant to describe or provoke thought about a chapter in the history of race. You may click on each image within the poem to lead to a broader, more detailed discussion of what that piece implies.
I don’t see color
Let’s not play that game
I do see color
And no two are the same
We are 8 billion Pantones
Each good as the next
That’s beauty skin deep
That’s the ultimate flex
Phenotype is simply
a manifestation
Genotype is the
intended destination
If you scope to the level
of x’s and y’s
We’re all the same
Just a different disguise
So don’t tell me your race
Cuz that script’s made up
To divide us, misguide us
And keep us locked up
How high can you jump
How far can you throw
How high can you think
How far can you know
We all have the same
shot at intelligence
Hair type, skin color
To brains, no relevence
Athletic success
Comes from opportunity
Or lack thereof
Within a community
Trying to navigate
All the ignorance and petty hate
Leaves me wanting to separate
From those refusing to cerebrate
You want to talk ancestry
Go back 60,000 years
Where we lived as one
To the south of Algiers
San bushman the tribe
From which we all came
Many paths out
But we’re still all the same
To Australia, and India
And what would later be Spain
That’s where they first went
That’s where they changed
Appearances, adherences
Biological interferences
External dissension
But internal coherences
For melanin is simply
A response to the sun
As we left the equator
Lighter skin tones begun
Because the body and brain know
To survive, thrive and be
We completely depend
On that vitamin D
Looks aren’t deceiving
But scary to some
Let’s put aside our differences, since
There really are none
I’m not asking for love
Just the removal of hate
Let’s open our minds
Take this time to elevate
Because there’s only one race
To which we all belong
And if we’re going to win it
It takes one people strong
