I am not Black,
But neither am I White
Or Male.
I am not Black
And have had the privilege
Of walking safely in daylight
Free from harassment
Free from name-calling
Free from threats.
I am not Black
But that privilege
Was taken away from me
By a dictator giving permission
To the hate-filled and misguided
To yell obscenities and threats at me
As I walked home from work.
I am not Black
But I could not confront them
As they drove by,
Thumping baseball bats in their hands
In the back of their pickups.
I could do nothing but drop my head,
And let their words burn into me.
I am not Black
But a knight of the dictator
Refused to acknowledge when I spoke
Answering his question about my business.
He dismissed our community as “cute,”
Where women played at men’s jobs
Rather than staying at home,
Unseen and unheard.
I am not Black
And so I cannot fully understand
The depth of the damage of these attitudes do
Day after day,
Year after year,
Generation after generation.
I am not Black
But I empathize
And I celebrate today
As we depose the dictator.
I am not Black
But I know the celebration is premature;
The real work is ahead of us.
I am not Black
So I ask those who are
To remind me in the days, weeks, years to come
Of the work that must be done
So that you and I can walk in safety,
Together.
No privilege needed.