Try to listen to your fellow human

I’m not afraid of police brutality entirely 

I’m afraid for my daughter 

My nephew 

My friend’s child 

My brother 

I’m afraid of the misconceptions of my character without truly knowing me 

I’m afraid of not being seen as human, not being seen as a father to children 

A son to a mother and a brother to a brother 

I’m afraid you’ll judge me by my looks, God I try to look as professional as possible 

I try to fit the mold of an American 

But do I truly fit 

Is it my skin that weathered many centuries of slavery and Jim Crow 

Is it my personality, trying to constantly figure out how I fit and how my daughters fit into this equation 

If black is not American, let’s take away all his accomplishments 

If black is not the world let’s take away all of his accomplishments 

Let’s take away math and science 

Let’s take away the bible and most knowledge 

Don’t hate black skin, unify with it to continue God’s purpose 

To inhabit the world with like-minded beings 

To truly love one another 

Can we acknowledge the true history of the world? 

Can we put egos and biasedness aside to recognize truth? 

Let’s start anew 

Let’s learn from each other 

To better the world that we all live in 

  

  

Tony L. Jefferson, Jr. 2014