For them, if it were possible to be Black for a Day, perhaps then you would seek understanding:
If you were Black for a day,
You would feel the weight of this skin.
If you were Black for a day
Followed through stores and looked at as a criminal by some
Chastised for standing up
Demonized for kneeling down
Celebrated for your gifts
Envied for your culture
Executed in the street, in your home, and in your car.
If you were Black for a day
You would wonder what you did to make the world hate you
Question why your presence strikes fear in “them”
Ponder how the ugly has lived for so long
Postulate when you would be seen for your character alone.
If you were Black for a day
You would want the world to know
That even we are as different from each other as “they” are.
That knowing one of us is still not the same as knowing US
If you were Black for a day
You would also see how beautiful this journey has been
Through the burdens of this skin, you are stronger
Through the trials of this generational fight, you are made excellent
Through the distortions of history, you have had to dig for truth
Just to prove your existence and contributions are valuable and real
Through the centuries of oppression, “they” need not fear a return of the same treatment at our hands–karma does it’s own work
And if you were Black for a day
You would want someone
Who doesn’t look like you
To agree with you
That God loves us all
Not one more than the other
That He created variety–in His image
And that your life matters.
