We hold these truths to be self evident,
That all men are created equal…
Except for the black man at the traffic stop
All men are created equal…
Except for that little black boy murdered
Reaching in his bag for soda pop
Mother crying for her son that never came back from the corner shop
I guess not…
That they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights:
Life without parole,
Liberty to waste away in my ghetto, and
Pursuit from authorities systematically made against me
In the name of the U.S of Amen to the Jesus that you pray to
‘Cause my Jesus would never agree to the discrimination you are familiar to, but
To secure these rights governments are instituted among Men,
Deriving their just powers from…
The consent of the governed?
Yet the governed never consents to the murder of unarmed women
Now you gotta make a sudden decision whether she needs those pills
Whether she can afford those bills, cause
“Black Women Are STRONG!” but not like an animal
More like, “That’s what her mother taught her”
That’s what Rosa taught her, that’s what Claudette and Angelou and Davis taught her, so
Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for
Light and transient causes;
But black bodies left in the streets riddled with bullet holes is no light cause
But my black wife, my black daughter, my black sister after I kissed her
Feeling afraid that they won’t be called in for a job ‘cause of her long locs and dark skin is
This “long train of abuses and usurpations,” so
Best believe patience is running thinner than Jefferson’s love for dark wine, yet
It is their right, it is their duty to throw off such government, still
When black boys and men, girls and women congregate to exercise their 1st amendment rights
They’re given hard lefts and rights, K9 bites, and helicopter lights
But when white protestors besiege the capitol they’re greeted with open arms, turned over palms,
And the scene is calm…
Such has been the patient sufferance of the American Negro
Who knows if I’ll get to see my child grow
Dreams left unfulfilled,
That this nation still has not risen up and lived the meaning of it’s creed:
We hold these TRUTHS to be self-evident, that ALL men are created unequal, in fact.
So I ask you, what is your declaration to a man never freed?
By Ikenna Ugbaja
