YOU GON' GET THIS RIGHT

CATEGORY

life

Yes, I am an Empress of old, a descendant of a praised people 

I come from THE generation of Gods

My name is writing on your walls

It is a constant reflection in your brain 

You hate my name because you claim that you are unable to pronounce it, so you try to shorten it.

Nah, you gone say Every. Single. Syllable.

Right on down to the last drop

Let this name coat your tongue, the same way that the lies about my people have

It’s contentious for you, & poisonous to your mouth

You call our names ghetto, and in our ignorance we’ve always agreed, but our names are artifacts 

It is a separation and peace from conformity  

It is control in a controlled environment

It is reminiscent of a time when we named ourselves, and weren’t “GIVEN” names.

A time when we were the warriors of this land

It is power over our watered down selves

It is a language that we have forgotten, but is still inside of us

I am not a Susan, A Samantha, or A Meredith; I am not a Casey or a Cynthia

I am what I am

I am A TALEEBA

I am studious, a seeker of wisdom and knowledge

And I’ll be DAMNED if I let you call me anything other than my birth name.

Say it,

And respect it……

Humble yourself and learn 

You hate the word indigenous 

Because it’s true

I am smart, I am beautiful, I am courageous these are the words that I repeat to myself over and over again,

Because WE HAVE TO

We speak love into ourselves because we are required to or we’ll perish

I don’t expect you to understand

And I don’t expect you to like it

But my demeanor is of a challenging nature

And my personality is commanding

So you’ll respect it  

And you would like to be downtrodden so badly, because it’s “trending”

That you “borrow” our styles, dances and music flow

And tell us that our history has always been rooted into yours, so it’s ok to share

All the while looting and stealing our land, right underneath our own noses

You're  afraid of your own shadows

So let me tell you what it’s like to be in my Brown skinned, cinnamon colored, INDIGENOUS skin

It is anxiety and fear, and restlessness and more fear, and restrictions and exhaustion from answering stupidquestions all day about my hair

It is knowing that one day the love of your life will have to deal with the adult version of this world in his brown skin

And see color in ways that he has never fathomed

It’s being afraid that your fiancé will not walk through your doors, and into your open arms

It’s battling prejudice, ignorance and RACISTS on a daily basis

It’s knowing that your history has been stolen, understanding how great that you really are, and feeling so lonely

That’s what I am.

So I don’t expect people like you to understand

The great pyramids are in KEMET, which is also located in AFRICA

And you people still question the creators of that “mystery”

So when I say CALL ME BY MY NAME, I mean it

And if you can’t pronounce it, don’t worry, I’ll help you to sound it out

Cuz you gon’ get this right, or you gon’ get out of my face.