A love letter to the black community

A love letter to the black community

I wanted to give you something just for you

Away from the prying hands of appropriators

This is one thing they can’t fake

Can’t steal

Can’t popularise

What it really is to be black

For every time you’ve been told you ‘speak well for a black person’

For every time you’ve been asked 'but where are you really from?'

For every one of the countless times that someone has said 'can I touch your hair?'

For every time someone has forced you into an awkward conversation

at a dinner table / work event / birthday party

examining you like something exotic

There have been the overwhelming number of times that make it worth every second

We’ve had the littest parties

The wickedest whines

The sickest tunes

The most seasoned food

The most slicked edges

The unmatched laughter

The understanding

Of what it is to be black

We celebrate our excellence

Our scientific developments

mathematics

medicines

The bits of history they don't tell

We celebrate our successes

Not just think about the frustration of what it is

To have to justify our existence

For every time we’ve just enjoyed being in the company of people who just ‘get it’

The solidarity

The community

The love

It’s all part of our experience

Something that can’t be faked

Something that can’t be taken

We know that when we march, we post, we fight

for what we believe in

It will not be in vain

Keep going, smiling, laughing, loving

This is a love letter just for you.