A vision
They say that it's visionary uncommonly known
To find your power stood behind a microphone
But the words are a painting, Vincent Van Gough
Not your typical masterpiece, I switch up strokes
The voice is a frequency, shows lexical ability, opinions, facts or political affinity
So where are the voices of my young black family
When will you see the importance of our black lives mattering
When did the abundance of a pigment become a reason to be searched
My brother gets shot but the cop's feelings were hurt?
He wasn't being polite enough or showing that respect
Tell that to my ancestors with the ropes around their necks
No I'm not bitter, though there's lemonade in my system
Won't admit to failure so they place blame with the victim
Sorry now where's the justice in the twisted view
That you killed a brother and his family should be thanking you?
Labelled as a thug, a bum, a dealer or a hustler
What? are you afraid of what he could be on the cusp of
On the cusp of greatness but they threaten jail to silence him
Too scared of change to exemplify the drive within
He's black and hooded assumed guilty with a loaded gun
They light the fire and then claim his was the smoking one
Strapped to his waist, by the stitch of his denim seam
Could be a capri-sun and you'll still swear you saw the barrel gleam
We wonder why so many don't aspire to the men in suits
When it's their oppression making victims of our black youth
Manners maketh man but being black doesn't make you guilty
Try and wash the blood off but to them you'll still be filthy
You say they're just cop killers with an agenda full of hatred
When it's you with the views that are ignorant and out-dated
When each brother has to fear a broken brakelight
The same mother fears she might not see her son tonight
But tell yourself that we're the ones with the problem
The bitter, the bigots, the hostile, rough and wrong ones
Resist arrest and we just get labelled
We'd like to comply if only we were able
To respond to a question without a black fatality
But white privilege still denies its brutality
Through class actions but then dismissed lawsuits
The body cameras showed they'd fabricated their truth
With each week we hear another shooting; shameless
Yet institutions rake their bonuses, blameless
Willingly ignorant, they stay shielding their eyes
Instead they keep wielding their guns and promoting their lies
They see Black lives matter and they detract from our movement
We don't want explanations just the means for improvement
-Halle Bertie