Color Is The Name They Gave Me I fall, I rise, I stand I was born with a name, but Color is the name that they gave me. Color is the name they gave me, but not the one I answer to. I answer to the weight of my own worth, the truth of my own steps, the power of my own becoming. I am more than what you see, I am what I rise to be. My Color is history, Yes- But it is also a memory The battle that had to be fought with fire As my ancestor fights alongside me. You can hear the heartache through the rumble. Who walked through the storms that were louder than an earthquake with their heads unbowed. Changed leg to leg. arm to arm. neck to neck The abuse and neglect with no regret. Color was the name they gave me while pigment became Imprisonment Not brown Not cream Not tan Not light-skinned But BLAK Niggar Negra As if we were the Color of the bottom of their shoes. While letting the Color of my skin be the reason their eyes define me. So, Color was the name they gave me. Spitting at me with their foul mouths I knew the devel was near. Boy, they just thought I was something to fear before I ever opened my mouth. They decided who I was at a glance. With lazy minds, lazy eyes, lazy lies. Too quick to judge, slow to learn. They would build stories off my Color, before they took the time to learn. But you have had your time with my Color, for way too long. I come back with vengeance, for I am strong They say if you stand for anything, you shall fall for it all. So I break this cycle of manipulation the one y'all would call hesitation. I rise to my reputation, the one you built off my Color. I fight with the same fire in my eyes that you chose to use to kill my Color. I fight with power, I fight with God. Didnt you introduce him to me just Remember, he was of my kind. How dare you think I would continue to bow down to you. Did you not understand my roots? Not understanding the meaning of being human Just because we are different colors does not, mean we all can't be the same.