"Gen Tri Fi Ca Tion"

white american 

thank you for coming to 

my neighborhood, anywhere

a black person lives 

and telling them they 

wrong and not suited for you 

so you price us out, 

discredit 

our dive bars, grandma's 

coffee shop and the corner 

store thats too torn and 

appears to be old and 

antiquated for your modern taste 

Thank you for making the 

assessment that we are 

savage and 

"don't take care of our own", 

yes that is a chicken bone 

on the ground 

Im starting to believe we 

keep it just on the verge

 of unlivable to keep you 

from wanting to lay your 

head in the same space as "us" 

Thank you for telling us 

we can not teach our 

children and informing 

them subtly that they are 

not going to be anything 

that you want them to be.

Thank you for reminding 

me why I became and 

educator to begin with. 

Thank you for reminding 

why its my obligatory duty 

to stand in the face of adversity 

stand in the face of those 

who don't want me to 

stand at all thank you for 

reminding me that my job 

is to stand with the 

microphone in hand 

pen and pad at my 

side at the ready 

Thank you for making 

me fall in love with my 

skin even more... 

your gen tri fi ca tion 

sucks but my blood line is 

stronger than this upside 

down world....