By Submitted by guest blogger, Khadija Mohsin
“We all bleed red!” they say.
Yet this ideology gets blown away by the wind
When they come into contact with one who is perceived to be lesser than them
“I don’t see color, I’m colorblind.” they say.
How can you not see color, when I am standing here in front of you
Wearing my pride on my skin, from my head to my toes?
It has been painted onto me with a fine tip paintbrush
“I’m not racist but…” they say.
I fear your ignorance for it has killed my people before
When I say “my people,” I do not mean those of my country
When I say “my people,” I mean those who have stood beside me
I mean those who have faced what I have faced
I mean those who fear what I fear
I mean those who fight alongside me in this battle against hate
I mean those who are people of color
“Go back to your country!!” they say.
How can I possibly go back to my country
When I was brought up and raised in America
When I was taught to love America before I was taught to love my own people
When my parents planted our futures into the same soil
That my oppressors have been buried in?
Ignorance and fear
Traps us
Suffocates us
Drowns us
I pray for a better world
In which Americans,
The citizens of the melting pot,
Can live in perfect harmony
I pray that we can finally be the “land of the free”