Black Privilege
On evaluating black privilege:
Black privilege is the hung warrior
Its every black man woman and child sacrificed in every war and promised freedom.
Black privilege is going to an airport and wondering if TSA is gonna search my hair one more time
Black privilege is the tingle in my spine when I pass a police officer
It is the fear of having to one day memorise my brother’s eulogy or my father’s eulogy or my husband’s eulogy or my unborn son’s eulogy.
It’s not knowing whether or not to put my mother’s name on that list.
Black privilege is having to carry what little history i have on my back like a burden instead of a gift.
It is me failing to track my lineage back past my grandmother.
Black privilege is people laughing at my culture then copying it the next day.
Black privilege is not knowing my own language.
Its thanking god that my grandmother knew english because otherwise I wouldn't have been able to tell her I loved her. It's the shame knowing that none of that would have mattered as much to her as me being able to tell her i loved her language.
Black privilege was having to cut my hair at thirteen to remove the relaxer. And it's knowing that most of you don't even know what a relaxer is.
Black privilege is remembering constantly that I have to work twice as hard to get half as far because of my skin and knowing that this equation is doubled because of my gender.
Black privilege is knowing that the black woman is the backbone of every society and also knowing that, we’re the least protected people in the world.
Black privilege is understanding that i will be the first and last person to love myself.
And it was thinking for a long time that no one else would.
Its my uncle telling me to get out of the sun because ‘god forbid I get any darker’ and its my black friends telling me that if i was dark i would be ugly.
Black privilege is knowing that the anti-me mentality hasn't changed since they colonized ME.
Black privilege is being given my country to rebuild with no resources or finances or support.
Its sitting in my econ class knowing that none of this will be applicable in a country riddled with corruption and poverty.
Black privilege is misspelling the word privilege everytime its used in this poem because my fingertips feel foreign to it.
Black privilege is knowing that this poem will only matter so much because Black history month is only so many hours of so many days of the shortest month in the year. and its internalising that we only matter so much because Black history month is only so many hours of so many days of the shortest month in the year.
And black privilege is understanding that we are black every hour of everyday of every month in the year. Before we were conceived, we were black, and after our souls wash away from this earth we are black. And it’s knowing that, because of this, we are a target.
And finally, Black privilege is me pouring my heart out and you forgetting this poem in 2 minutes.