Black, White, Red, or Yellow

All lead lives of mellow

White enjoys the fruits of bias;

Yellow never had to wonder, "Will they buy us?"

Red, now there's a color, many a meaning,

Still suffering from White's "cleaning"

Now, now, let us not forget Brown, like Red,

They were here long before White was ever around

Take a moment to ponder White, "the color of purity,"

Whose soul is as dark as night

Celebrating a day of "unity,"

Disregarding Red's futility

White takes, takes, and takes,

Never minding the lives at stake

Brown's home, as well as Red's,

Taking both of their women to bed

Let us not forget Black, taken from their home,

Thrown in a sack

A whole new world, one of White's "creations,"

Built upon bodies with premeditation

Black, the color of "evil" and "impurity,"

Superstitions based upon lack of clarity

Then, explain why White's bias does not stand for the other colored women,

whose bodies were plundered by the weird men?

White took the land, banished the man,

Murdered many a tribe, and clan

White met Black, White wanted

They mixed, and that color would have been grey, wouldn't it?

Still Black, hanging onto their pride, with curls, kinks,

And imperfections in their dark brown hides

White saw this, and wanted perfection,

So he once again corrected the insurrection

White took Black, well, not really "Black,"

White wanted his color back

Then there was what should have been White, but instead

There was Black, how could this be right?

White and Black make Dark Brown,

Dark Brown and White should make White?

But Black held onto their colors, no matter how many times

White tried to make others

Light Brown, but still Black

White man took my grandmother out back

Black father, still Black,

White mother, just White

And here am I, Light Brown,

With curls and wide nose

An "imperfection" that can't be corrected,

White knows

Light-skinned, looking at the dawn of a new day smiling,

It's Black's Friday

Written November 24th, 2023.