I am a girl full of many wishes
I am a girl who speaks for the unheard voices
I am a girl trying to leave her mark
I come from the curly coils of my mother
I come from the hardworking hands of my father
I come from church on Sunday's with the family dinners
I come from a village much more than a continent you say

I am an outspoken girl, but a girl who knows where she stands

I live in a predominant white suburbia area

So do I come from the white picket fences?

Do I come from the picnics in the park and the family baseball games?

I live in a white man’s fantasy shielded by my black beauty. At school I'm seen as a "white black girl.” Is that because I speak so eloquently? My hair is real, my clothes are fresh, and my parents both graduated college and have successful careers?

When I walk through the halls I’m shocked to see no one of color. I am the Model Minority. It hurts me to see that in the world we live in, a student can walk into my school be wrapped around with the Confederate Flag and show no remorse.

He is safe due to his first amendment right, but what rights do I have? Am I even safe?

It amazes me when I come to school wearing my Black Lives Matter Shirt and receive glares from my so-called Upper White Middle Classmates.

Should I be ashamed of MY culture, and the things I wear when I see my peers not only take away what my ancestors brought here in the first place, but claim it as their own?

It’s a different world when I leave my school and enter the world where I do see people of my color.
At church I'm seen as a BBG - 'Bougie Black Girl'.

I am poised with my image and myself,
I am not the "typical black girl from the ghetto"

They say I act too white. I am not like the other black girls’ in their eyes. I see how they stare me down when I walk by with my head held high, and not a worry in the world.

I know it's not always going to be pretty but I feel empowered to continue to strive for greatness and leave behind my legacy.

The struggle African American’s have faced throughout the world should not be brushed under the rug.
Take a look and maybe you’ll be woke!

We as African Americans’ express our blackness through our clothes, our music, our hair and through our radiant skin.

Together as a community we are Unapogletically Black.

I love how we embrace the gum popping, fast-talking, weave and non-weave wearing Black Queens and not shame them for their actions.

I love the sports players, rap loving, fashion guru; Black Kings who appreciate their worth and the worth of Black Queens.

I am here for the educated Kings and Queens who are making a difference everyday, and have been able to make a forever lasting impact on the lives of those following in their footsteps.

I love my melanin, my culture, and my village but even more so, I love that I can speak UP and speak OUT for what is right. I know where I stand in the world. I’m comfortable in my skin.

I'm comfortable of who I am and who I will be in the future. I'm poised and I'm educated. I want my voice to be heard but quiet when it’s time to let the powerful voices of others rise high and rise above.
I am who I am, and I am Unapologetically Black.