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.
