Why are we so angry?
We shouldn't have to explain,
9/11, remember that feeling of helplessness?
It keeps happening to us again and again,
Black and Brown people against the police - defenseless,
We've been fined, jailed, killed, and beaten senseless,
We cannot ask cops during traffic stops,
For their name and badge number,
I had just turned 16 that summer,
When an officer said, "Freeze!", and pointed a gun at me,
100 yards from my house, a case of "mistaken identity",
I almost ran, save the voice in my head,
Mom & Dad's advice, "yes sir", "no sir", "run and you're dead",
Someone snatched a purse and I fit the description,
Black kid, Green jacket, we went to the station on a mission,
A complaint was filed, no apologies, no explanations,
I'm one of the lucky ones,
I've only been stopped nine times in the past,
My tenth traffic stop could be my last.