We are all created the same way,
We all breathe the same air,
And walk on the same ground
Yet there seems to be a divide
Because the differences on the outside.
Groups form to maintain the separation
In order to sustain the culture of the past
Causing pain and violence to erupt.
Blood and death is what is left
From these unwanted battles
All due to difference in the color of our skin.
Black men, women, and children are terrified,
Scared to leave their homes
From the fear of being harassed or beaten on the streets,
No time of day is safe for those with colored skin
When in every scenario you are seen as a criminal.
Families cry out “Help!”,
But no one is there to answer.
Explanatory Statement:
Through this free verse poem, the message I intended to portray was the harshness of hate crimes and the effect it has on black families. I geared my focus towards racist groups such like the Ku Klux Klan who were and still are a hate group against different color races as well as religions. Through my choice of words I intended to show a more dark side that we tend to shy away from when discussed. I believe that it is important to know this horrific side because without this knowledge of what is happening we can’t make change and that is why I think it is crucial for those certain words such like death or blood to be added into the poem to give it more relevancy. Which ultimately was my inspiration during the writing process of this poem. I grew up in a time where culture was changing and people treated one another differently compared to the past. Hate crimes against African Americans has been an issue for years, but as those years progressed that issue has been on the decline showing a positive change in our nation. In order though to make this poem catch the reader’s attention I needed to go back to the roots of this issue when it was at its worst. During a time period where no help was coming for these innocent lives who were being viciously beaten and even murdered by people who hated the black race.
References
Byington, L., Brown, B., & Capps, A. (n.d.). Black Americans still are victims of hate crimes more than any other group. Center for Public Integrity.
https://publicintegrity.org/politics/black-americans-still-are-victims-of-hate-crimes-morethan-any-other-group/.
Gerstenfeld, P. B. (2018). Hate crimes causes, controls, and controversies. SAGE.
Hate crime statistics. The United States Department of Justice. (2020, November 16). https://www.justice.gov/hatecrimes/hate-crime-statistics
Horowitz, D. A. (1998). The normality of extremism: The Ku Klux Klan
revisited. Society, 35(6), 71–77. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf02686056
King, J. (2003). Hate crime: The story of a dragging in Jasper, Texas. Anchor Books.
Torres, S. (1999). Hate crimes against African Americans. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, 15(1), 48–63. https://doi.org/10.1177/1043986299015001004