The black in me sees 

A mother playing with her child under the African sun 

The black in me hears 

A man’s cries as he is stripped of his home

The black in me feels 

The empty shell that was left working under the American sun 

The black in me dares 

to pursue freedom like Harriet Tubman

The black in me dreams 

Like Martin Luther King dreamed of the unalienable rights promised to us. 

The black in me sits 

In the front filled with pride like young Claudette Colvin

The black in me sings 

Legendary notes like Whitney Houston 

The black in me shoots 

Game-winning shots like Kobe

The black in me fights 

For my life like George Floyd 

The black in me hopes 

that our nation will heal like Barack Obama 

The black in me 

is me and all those came before me .