God Is A Woman And Jesus Was A N****

one day my Black art teacher encouraged me to capture my beautiful golden skin

that was the start of my decolonization

Black culture was created as a way of resistance and survival

taken away from their homes, enslaved Africans were stripped of their heritage

so they created a new one

the Black culture is loud, beautiful and ain’t gonna be silenced

Growing up in a Black body you learn how unwanted you are in america

Once, when my brother was a kid, he wanted to take off his Black mask

Didn't think I could be tinkerbell unless we painted my skin white

Institutionalized racism creating systems that oppress

Seeing how not just having Black skin but acting Black is bad

Act white. I mean right.

Worried I would be deemed as “ghetto”

Or uneducated

Me, I was taught to speak white. I mean right.

Associating sounding Black as not sounding proper

Not allowed to use slang

Just wearing my natural curls wasn't okay, they had to be tamed

Encouraged to ruin my hair with heat

Styles that are protective deemed inappropriate

Unable to appreciate my natural hair pattern, my hair needs to be done right. I mean white.

Straight hair is prettier, softer

Was thinking this way because I was taught this way

All throughout my life told to hate the color of my skin

Socialized into hating Blackness

Act white. I mean right.

Now seeing racism passed down from generation to generation along with wealth

Inherited wealth made off of the Backs of enslaved African people

Gross history of colonizers dehumanizing the colonized

Generational trauma given to Black people like a family heirloom

And religion being used as a tool to control, hateful people hiding behind a cross