By Ajee Montes

Look at this world, what has it come to?

We live in a corrupt place where lies are told

And it’s so hard to tell the truth.

We live in a world where all we hear is negativity,

Don’t you think that suppresses our youth?

It’s like planting a flower, but not giving it enough sunlight to grow

And expecting it to bloom.

You see growing up, things were very watered down.

It was like I was trapped in the womb.

But as I grew older and became educated and intelligent, I realized

This place leaks a lot of fumes.

So I asked myself what could I do; how can I make this world a better place?

I mean it’s just me, a little voice in this big world full of space.

Then I looked in the mirror and realized I was a certain race.

For a minute I started thinking… Damn am I a disgrace?

Is it my fault I’m a certain color and I can’t change the look on my face?

But then I snapped out of it and realized I can do whatever I want,

As long as I do what it takes.

You see people go through life speeding as they were in a car with no brakes,

But me, on the other hand, I need to work twice as hard. I can’t afford breaks.

Now let me get on the topic of racism,

and if you don’t think racism still exists, you need to go ahead and look deep within.

Time and time again I’ve been judged for the color of my skin.

It’s crazy how you can be born a certain color and all stereotypes come within.

Just because my skin is dark doesn’t mean I’m going to end up in the pin.

It doesn’t mean that when I’m walking down the street I’m going to commit a crime

Nor does it give the right for a cop to shoot me six times.

It’s sad that when I walk down the street I feel like I’m at the wrong place at the wrong time.

I feel like I need to dress a certain way, I need to talk a certain way while all these eyes are watching me climb.

I feel like an outcast.

I feel as if people are still living partially in the past.

But the problems are a little different,

You see racism isn’t the same as it was back then.

I wouldn’t even call it racism, I would call it racial bias.

The media is the center for this and they all want us to buy this.

They will show your kids that colored people are the root of all violence.

So when they grow up they already have a preconceived notion… mindless.