When did you realize that they weren't with you?
Was it when you noticed that their red, white, and blue blood ran fiercely through their veins while yours was black and was dripped from the tips of the leaves into the cracks on the streets?
Was it when they told you that a wrinkle on their flag was more sinful than a bullet in your brother's chest, or when they called you a disrespectful nigger for refusing to forget your history so that you could pledge to theirs?
Was it when they demonized Malcolm X and scratched out Huey Newton's name from the history books, or when they saw your black power fist as an offense but argued that their confederate tattoo was a sign of southern pride?
When did you realize that they weren't with you?
Was it when they tried to belittle your struggle by telling you that cops kill white people too, or when they insulted you by saying that all would be fine if you just obeyed the officer's orders?
Charles Kinsey was unarmed, laying down, with his hands up and was shot
Freddie Gray was arrested in a squad car before coming out with a broken neck
Sandra Bland was detained in a cell when she "mysteriously hung herself"
Was it when you realized that by turning 18, you've accomplished something Tamir Rice, Trayvon Martin, and Laquan McDonald couldn't? Or perhaps it was when America proceeded to justify why all three of these kids deserved to die
Tamir should've had the orange band marking it as a fake gun
Trayvon shouldn't have put his hood up on his head
Laquan shouldn't have walked away from the officer
Was it their eyes? You know they look at you the way a tornado looks at Kansas
Maliciously
Eager to rip through your willpower, anxious to tear down your spirit, excited to watch you fall into the next stereotype
Was it your body?
The way your heart sank and drowned in its own sorrow when you saw your first RIP hashtag
The way your soul burned the first time you heard Tomi Lahren dismiss your brother's death as if it was his fault
The way your mouth bled when you had to hold your tongue and swallow your words because you didn't want to disturb the peace
When did you realize that you were officially woke?
Was it when you listened to College DropoutAnd got nervous when Kanye told you that he wasn't supposed to make it past 25?
Or perhaps it was when you listened to your childhood hero and realized that you could never dream as big as he did
Martin wanted blacks and whites to live together peacefully
You just want to be alive tomorrow
