They watched a knee, dressed in navy blue, choke the life out a man for nine minutes
And others who’d spent their childhoods singing
Red, yellow, black, and white
Were precious and accepted
Justified that homicide
But empathetic hearts and brown eyes
Met mine
And my black skin and their yellow complexion shrouded similar historic oppressions
And a wealth of history and heritage
and limitations of the lip service
of service and protection,
pursuits of happiness, and
Liberty and justice for us all
And people argued about who should speak up for who
We watched a man with a starry badge on his chest
Justify an assassin who claimed the alleged red light
Was too much for his troubled soul
So he did what good guys do
And shed blood on a bad day
I remembered when their brown eyes
Met mine
And my black skin and their yellow complexion shrouded similar historic oppressions
And a wealth of history and heritage
and limitations of the lip service
of service and protection,
pursuits of happiness, and
Liberty and justice for us all
And while people argued about who should speak up for who
They dared to say
We stand
A revolution’s been ignited
I chose to not compare
But to stand
Because we only stand united
Jasmine Cochran
@shorterthanwinter