Black girls don’t get justice.
You know what they say about justice and black girls
Black girls don’t get justice
Black girls
Are too much
Too loud
Too aggressive
Too big
Too fat
Too thin
Too mean
Too mad
Too angry
Too grown
Too fresh
Too nosey
Too ambitious
Too ugly
Too dumb
Too ghetto
Too loud
Too obnoxious
Too muscular
Too extra
Black girls are much too extra
We don’t even belong here
Black girls don’t deserve justice!
Why?
Because they're black
And they’re girl
And we live in a man’s world
And the blacker you are the more you'll need to prove
You aren't like those blacks
You're not ghetto
You're not stupid
You're not dumb
You're not abusive
You're not hypersexual
Youre not twirking and strippin and dancing on the hoods of cars
You're not beating your kids
You're not losing your kids in the streets
You're not subjecting your kids to public schools
You're not subjecting your kids to rap music and hip hop culture
You're not subjecting your kids to fast foods
Youre not subjecting your kids to LGBTQ identities and lived realities
You're not subjecting your kids to poverty
You'll need to prove you're the type of black who
Can speak proper English, no african american vernacular,
You don’t look unkempt
Your hair is tame
You don’t have an overcomplicated name
You have some sense
You have religion
But not too much
You’re not a communist, or socialist
You believe in the american dream
You subscribe to the american dream
You don't need hope because you are climbing the ladder
Reaching up way past the middle class,
You and your children’s children shall have the last laugh,
You are future millionaires,
No,
Billionaires,
In the making
You’re the type of black that is better
Smarter
Thinks harder
You engage in
Civil discourse
Never rock the boat
You fit in to their crowds
You wear the suit
And the smile
You're the type of black who
You're the type of black who
You're the type of black who
Knows better than those other niggers
Youre the black who
You're the one
You respect the badge,
and the gun
You know how to speak
You know how to talk in different circles
Your counterparts love you
Your family is safe
What's happening in the South
Aint none of your concern
Because you’re the type of black who
Works for what you earn
You're not like those other blacks
You're not
that.
You're the type of black who
You have your degree
You have a good job
You live in a community where
whites are out walking dogs
At 11 am
You have life insurance and a 401K
You have benefits
You're better than them,
You are the black who isn’t like those other blacks
See black girls don’t get justice because we are black
And we’re girl.
Living in a world that ascribes value to human life,
The whiter you are
The more you are right
The more man you are
The more you deserve
The safety, admiration, adoration, and respect
That you’ve earned
Need not be concerned
With those other blacks who struggle
They do because they want to
So many opportunities to take hold of the rungs and climb
Is it your fault they chose poverty
Over a lavish life of luxury?
After all, we all are afforded the same opportunities.
So black girls don't get justice because
Black girls dont deserve justice
Black girls are
Carlee Russell