Unsafe

TW: PTSD related to anti-black racism

By Kerry Jo Bell

I feel unsafe
Isn’t that every black woman’s woe
Every time she opens the door
And enters this mediocre white mans world
They deserve to be in a cage
Yet they roam the streets
In their white sheets
Disguises as police uniforms

Black. Woman. Angry
The holy trinity
Makes me scary
Because I embrace all three
Standing in my power
In my truth
Uncaring that their vile words regard me as uncouth

Because their sharp weapons
Sharpens my tongue
I have a theory
I’d have no need to be angry if you didn’t hate or berate me
Their kin tells them we the invisibles should worship at their feet
But I tell them, I’ll do that when they pick their own cotton without missing a beat

Breonna, Sandra and so many
It could have been me
That’s why I’m so angry

Self defence is what they claim
Knowing their hatred was to blame
The judge agrees with their racist practice
For black and brown people there’s no recourse of justice

School shooters, all white
Serial killers, all white
But we are the ones that are dangerous?
And you wonder why we’re so furious?

This foolery has got to stop
Because I feel unsafe
Walking around my own neighbourhood
Enduring the white gaze 
With these Harriet Tubman lips ready to erase
Any misinformed supremacist views that demean me and my race

Learn more about Kerry in bio on the Featured Author page.