by Jenny vela
Pioneer Charter School

Racism I see
the system.
White kicking our kind

every time a cop shoots a young black man.
I hear my friends crying
because their skin color.
How can we stop this?
Why is this happening?
Racism I see the system.

Racism I see

them standing up for themselves.

Martin Luther King giving speeches,
Rosa Parks right next to me

saying, “No I won’t stand up”
Harriet Tubman saving my life

grabbing my little hand to take me through the underground railroad.
Should I thank her?

I see people across the country stand up to protest the violence

against Michael Brown.
Racism I see people standing up for themselves

Racism I see
our people going to jail because of our skin
our kind killing themselves because of our skin
white people staring at us because of our skin
why were we even born?

WE WERE BORN TO MAKE A CHANGE
TO BE HAPPY ABOUT OURSELVES STOP THIS
OUR PEOPLE ARE GETTING BULLIED JUST FOR THEIR SKIN
IT’S NOT RIGHT

We can make the change.