Kai Wells, 12 (Maryland) Black God created us hoping we would be equal Not knowing that some would be treated differently Killed Murdered Shot Black You turn on the news and someone was killed… AGAIN Police offering us to God as if we are chocolate Our voices shut down before they can be heard Say their names They all matter Black Lives Matter Trayvon Martin Tamir Rice George Floyd Phillip White Michael Brown Sandra Bland Eric Garner Mya Hall Breonna Taylor All people who died JUST FOR BEING BLACK All of them had families who cared Some had kids Some had siblings All expecting their loved one to come home Only to find they were murdered Imagine the tears Imagine the heartbreak Can you imagine that Or are you too busy trying to keep America safe from “threats” Trying to keep them safe from black people Because when do kids like me go from cute and precious To dangerous and a threat to their community Like MLK I have a dream A dream that sometimes feels like an unknown reality A dream that feels fake I dream for black men and women to walk freely Without the fear that their lives are in danger No one should have to feel that they are constantly being judged No one should have to feel that they have to watch their back every living moment No mother should feel that feeling You know that feeling When you feel that something isn’t right They shouldn’t have to feel that but they do and it’s ten times worse They shouldn’t have to worry if they send their child out to play They shouldn’t have to worry if their husband is late from work They shouldn’t have to worry that their loved one might get killed Imagine that pain Imagine that worry It’s real Every mother of a young black child has felt it Every child should be able to walk down the street not considered a threat Every child should be able to wear a hoodie if it’s cold outside Every young boy should be able to play with a toy gun if they choose to Every young girl should be able to express themselves freely and not be stereotyped as a mad black girl But you don’t care You never care Because all we are to you is A threat Different Lower than Black Ever since slavery there has always been that sense of hope That the next generation would have it better But deep down they know It never gets better for us They are afraid of us Who is us Black We need to stand up Rise up Stand tall Show them that enough is enough I dream that black mothers can one day let their child outside knowing they will be safe But for now We show them that enough is enough We show them that they can never tear us down Why Because we are black We are black on black on black And we will fight until this injustice is brought to a stop Dear Moma I am a human I live in this country I call home… ish I may look different I may have different hair I may have different ancestry I may not look like the people on tv unless they were from the news stories I may not look like my friends But I am human And every day I leave home my moma says she loves me I think it’s just a saying But it’s true For my moma she loves me She loves my heart and soul Even though people would kill Just to kill it I didn’t know what this love meant Until I heard the stories For people who look like me are illegal For I am out of my own control For I can, no, will be called an n- But I don’t care I block them out Cause there will be that day When that red and blue comes hand on that protection shield Protection from what, from me That protection is the same thing that sent so many to be with many more But I will come home tonight I promise Love— BANG!!!! Time stops buts speeds up at the same time The pain, as I slowly drown in a red storm Darkness Then light… the light P.S. I love you too, Moma Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum The sound of the music goes bum bum bum The beat keeping me on this planet goes bum bum bum bum Although people have the desire to end it mid-sentence But all these beats join the crowd in the sky But the beat of my soul goes on Even when people want me torn into shreds For being the illegal color that I am in this one-sided world It keeps bum bum bumming Forever The soul lives on And the beat keeps going Bum bum bum bum bum bum These poems were sent to us as part of our Classroom Submissions (for teachers only) Program. If you are a teacher of children 13 and younger and would like to submit your students’ work to Stone Soup, please do so via our Submittable.
Black Lives Matter
Change, a poem by Kaya, 10
Black lives matter, so do white’s but what’s going on, is not right. We stand for freedom. We stand for equal rights, but racial unfairness have taken many lives. We need change and we need it now. Of course, that’s what people have been saying for years now. This is a movement, let’s have a talk. Free your mind and make change as we walk. Together, let’s turn this around, let’s right our wrongs and sing songs that will make peace for all. We are all God’s children, pure as snow, don’t you all know? Let’s change direction and and make correction. Let’s make this our legacy—Unity in our community.
Spread Love Not Hate
“Injustice for one is injustice for all.” – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dear Diary, Today I went to a protest march. I went to support people who are against racism and especially to support Black people as they are treated unfairly. I went to show Black people that I am with them and will stand up for them. It is not enough to not be a racist. You have to stand up and show up in support. I went because I believe Black Lives Matter. I went because I believe racism is wrong and people should not be judged by the color of their skin or how they look. Just because of the skin color, Black people have to face a lot of discrimination. They are not given the same opportunities to grow as others. And I don’t understand why this injustice? We all are the same inside, just like two eggs. If we crack a brown egg and a white egg, it will be the same inside, there is no difference. The world belongs to all of us. We share the same earth, water and air. When Nature doesn’t treat us differently, why should we treat each other differently? What happened to George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and many other Black people is so unfair. And this is what the protest is for. When our peaceful march started,It was raining, yet a lot of people came. Everyone had masks on. A lot of them were holding banners that said “Black Lives Matter.” I made one which said “Spread Love Not Hate.” I loved reading all the different slogans. One of them said “Injustice for one is injustice for all.” – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.” We all were repeating after the person who led the March. Leader: “Black Lives Matter.” Us: Black Lives Matter Leader: what do you want? Us: Justice Leader: When do you want it? Us: Now We kept repeating more slogans for about 2 miles and reached our destination. Then two Black women talked about how it was different for them growing up than their white friends. They were followed for no reason and could not go to the coffee shop without a cop staring at them. It made me realize the difference between privileged and not-privileged. They spoke about cops and their brutality. How just because of their skin color, Black people are more likely to be stopped by police. How people around them are suspicious of them. Their speeches were powerful and I was thinking how people can be so mean. I felt sad hearing their stories. We observed 8 mins and 46 seconds silence for George Floyd by kneeling down. Doing so made me realize how difficult it must have been for him with the knee on his neck and unable to breathe. I think everyone had the same thoughts as me since the whole crowd was quiet even after the time was up. I am glad I joined the protest. I learnt a lot of things and what I can do to stop racism. We can start by not treating others badly due to their skin color or how they look. If we see someone being treated unfairly, we should speak up and tell someone about it. We can also help them by listening to them and understanding them. The most important thing that I learnt from going to this March is that “Silence is violence.” That means we should not keep quiet when something wrong is happening in front of us.
