Black Skin, Black Mask

[Makini]

Black Skin, Black Mask

He want to free himself from mental slavery,
So he put on a leather sandals and a dashiki.
He want to shake off his historically begot cultural deficiency,
So he buy a Malcolm X poster and a Bob Marley CD.
He want his voice to gain power and potency,
So he learn about Ghana, Egypt, Zimbabwe and Mali.
But inside it is evident and plain to see,
That he still suffering from mental slavery.
Dark skin, thick lip, kinky haired black male,
To defend the character of a fellow black brother he will fail.
Dark skin, thick lip, kinky haired black male,
When he hear the word reparation he dismissively wails.
Dark skin, thick lip, kinky haired black male,
As a requisite his other half must be pale.

Black skin with a black mask
Him skin black, but he also wear a black mask.

She want to embrace her African ancestors she said,
So she grow a long flowing fashion dread.
She want to bring positivity to nasty discriminatory stereotype words she read,
So she memorize some quotations from Marcus Garvey in she head.
She want her children to know their African culture, to never be misled,
So she give them African names instead.
But inside a lot of historical misinformation still needs to be shed,
It not easy to remove society’s cultural, social, religious and political lead.
Dark skin, thick hip, kinky haired black female,
Colourism and racism of her friends she never vocally nails.
Dark skin, thick hip, kinky haired black female,
Fighting to lose weight to be European frail.
Dark skin, thick hip, kinky haired black female,
Things black like herself she selectively assails.

Black skin with a black mask
She skin black, but she also wear a black mask.

How can he shatter this broken black mask?
To himself, this question he must ask.
How can she shatter this broken fake mask?
To really be black and beautiful and in it, bask.
How can they shatter this broken cultural mask?
Come true, come clean, come honest at last.
How can we shatter this broken social mask?
Come with integrity, fire and step up to the task.
How can I shatter this broken personal mask?
Come right, come fair, resist the system’s oppression and corruption and Unmask!


- M -