We are all a little racist.
It is not just a matter of black and white
Or colors that do not blend in with the night
It is the monster that hides away in our brains
Driving our ingrained judgement insane.
We are all a little racist.
There is no predator there is no prey
No victim or bully to portray
We are both the sufferer and the punisher
All making life a little bit harsher
We are all a little racist.
Whenever conflict tends to arise
Between two equal candidates either girls or guys
Both deserving of the award, the job, or the school
This is when the game of colors gets truly cruel
We are all a little racist.
When people have no other flaws to point out.
An accusatory word yearns to come out of the mouth
They probably won’t say it; they will hold it in
But it will be a remark about the skin
We are all a little racist.
It is not something that makes us proud
Ironically, it is our desire to blend in with the crowd
With our fear of the unknown upon first glance
We rely on first impressions, not giving the person a chance
We are all a little racist.
You cast your eyes upon a person on the street
Whether yellow, black, white, or red from the heat
Where they work, what they do, you do not have a clue
All the eyes see is that the person is not the same color as you
We are all a little racist.
The lurking demon of racism continues to possess us all day
Constantly demanding to prolong his stay
Hopefully someday all of the colors on the palate will mix
But this will be no easy issue to fix
We are all racists.
Rebecca, also the artist for this piece, is a 16-year-old VOX staffer from Milton High School who hopes to bring the issue of racism back to the table by stating that everyone is still capable of being a racist.
Join VOX Dec. 10 for a Teen-led Dialogue
Register online here for our teen-led dialogue about race in Atlanta. We welcome any Atlanta-area teen join us for free on Dec. 10, 2-4 p.m., at The Center for Civil & Human Rights (directions here).
We’ll have a poetry open mic, free food. Create art. Record video. Speak up!
You can also mail your original story, poetry or art to media@voxatl.org.
