One Day...They Will See

 One day they will stop beating me
�"in their movies and on their T.V.
Today Zoetropes of infamy epitomize my history.
The slave that I was is all they desire to see.
I hope one day they will finally accept reality:
I am not a slave!  I am a man, and I am free!

One day they will stop stereotyping me.
I won't be the thug they claim me to be.
I won't be blamed for every crime you see.
Their films will no longer whitewash my history.
People will love me, and the truth will be told
I will be seen as the strong African from tales of old.

One day no one will see our women as bodacious s***s.
We will value her worth and not the size of her butt.
She will be seen as a mother and queen by all.
We will understand that without her our kingdoms would fall.
One day she will be precious again and seen as rare.
She will have pride beyond her booty and expensive fake hair.

Today, I create the example of what will be.
I will inspire the black man to open their eyes to see.
We are not the imaginary savages of a bewildered history.
We will rewrite the story of who and what we shall be.
Mental change has to begin within our culture and race.
It is left for us to decide our ultimate fate.

Someday, we will make them recognize our truth.
We are men and women that care for our youth.
We are no longer the slaves that worked the fields.
We are a culture of people who shape our own wills.
Someday, the sickening stereotypes will be lost to time.
Then we will be seen as full people in both body and mind.

 

© 2016 Eddie K. Phillips

Reviews

[Rita L. Sev]

Eddie, I'm sorry it has taken so long for me to get here, but I am so glad I did. Labels and stereotypes are the root of so many problems. The good news, as your poem proclaims, is that labels can be eradicated, and stereotypes smashed. Sometimes a painfully slow process, but worth the effort, for all generations to come.

[Eddie Phillips]

Rita I agree with everything you wrote. I dislike stereotypes and the idea of placing people in groups. The only way to eradicate it si to communicate and empathize. I hope for a better tomorrow.

[1]

Generational curses are tremendously difficult to break but it does start with the individual. Many of our people are still stuck in a time warp dreaming to be rescued, the truth of the matter is, Dr. King and many others had a dream and stood up to challenge the label our people inherited, but we must endure day to day and strive to rewrite our history moving forward with self worthiness. Keep planting seeds, our biggest hope is the ripple effect, I felt great strength and harmony reading this piece, let's pray others will too!!

[Eddie Phillips]

You speak great truth in your review. The change that is needed starts within our own culture and its fires must be stoked. I pray that people start to hunger for knowledge again and seek out truth. Thanks for your review.

[1]

Amen, brother!