Performed at North Allegheny’s Virtual Concert for Racial Justice on July 12, 2020. Donate to Pittsburgh-based organizations that advocate for racial justice in education and the arts here.
It’s crazy. How I’ve never noticed it before.
I mean this is really just America at its core.
And I feel like I’ve been stolen of information that I desperately needed to know
Because I thought racism at this magnitude was solved long ago.
And I now know that that mindset was so ignorant.
But that’s because the America that I was taught was so different.
And even beyond the classroom I’ve been blinded.
I’m now realizing that some people who I respect and love need to be reminded...
That, simply put,
Racism is bad
And, unfortunately, it is still very much a round.
I mean its influence on today’s society is still very profound.
You know, I think for people today the small things are where racism originate:
Name discrimination, backhanded compliments, ignorant jokes we need to eliminate
Because those do eventually accumulate
Into obscenely racist action that others continue to see then emulate.
It’s a domino effect. Can’t you tell?
They conditioned us when we were younger, and I know they meant well
But we were told to be scared and run away if we saw a certain color
Through small action around us, we learned to label each other “The Other”.
I really believe that fear is a powerful force.
It’s the reason why so many can discriminate without remorse,
But fear really is a double edged sword
And its positive aspects can not be ignored.
I’ve always been afraid of deeply hurting someone unintentionally,
But I’ve realized that, if I didn’t choose to listen now, I would’ve done damage eventually
Because I can’t repeat myself enough
But racism has been seeping through the holes of our communities for centuries and now it is absolutely stuffed.
It is through this fear of hurting others that we need to start reading and learning.
And this want and need to learn more is now finally spreading,
But, as my friend says, keep your foot on the pedal, because we can not forget
That this will take some time, and we are definitely not done yet.