40500
Yes, I am an Empress of old, a descendant of a praised people
I come from THE generation of Gods
My name is writing on your walls
It is a constant reflection in your brain
You hate my name because you claim that you are unable to pronounce it, so you try to shorten it.
Nah, you gone say Every. Single. Syllable.
Right on down to the last drop
Let this name coat your tongue, the same way that the lies about my people have
It’s contentious for you, & poisonous to your mouth
You call our names ghetto, and in our ignorance we’ve always agreed, but our names are artifacts
It is a separation and peace from conformity
It is control in a controlled environment
It is reminiscent of a time when we named ourselves, and weren’t “GIVEN†names.
A time when we were the warriors of this land
It is power over our watered down selves
It is a language that we have forgotten, but is still inside of us
I am not a Susan, A Samantha, or A Meredith; I am not a Casey or a Cynthia
I am what I am
I am A TALEEBA
I am studious, a seeker of wisdom and knowledge
And I’ll be DAMNED if I let you call me anything other than my birth name.
Say it,
And respect it……
Humble yourself and learn
You hate the word indigenous
Because it’s true
I am smart, I am beautiful, I am courageous these are the words that I repeat to myself over and over again,
Because WE HAVE TO
We speak love into ourselves because we are required to or we’ll perish
I don’t expect you to understand
And I don’t expect you to like it
But my demeanor is of a challenging nature
And my personality is commanding
So you’ll respect it
And you would like to be downtrodden so badly, because it’s “trendingâ€
That you “borrow†our styles, dances and music flow
And tell us that our history has always been rooted into yours, so it’s ok to share
All the while looting and stealing our land, right underneath our own noses
You're afraid of your own shadows
So let me tell you what it’s like to be in my Brown skinned, cinnamon colored, INDIGENOUS skin
It is anxiety and fear, and restlessness and more fear, and restrictions and exhaustion from answering stupidquestions all day about my hair
It is knowing that one day the love of your life will have to deal with the adult version of this world in his brown skin
And see color in ways that he has never fathomed
It’s being afraid that your fiancé will not walk through your doors, and into your open arms
It’s battling prejudice, ignorance and RACISTS on a daily basis
It’s knowing that your history has been stolen, understanding how great that you really are, and feeling so lonely
That’s what I am.
So I don’t expect people like you to understand
The great pyramids are in KEMET, which is also located in AFRICA
And you people still question the creators of that “mysteryâ€
So when I say CALL ME BY MY NAME, I mean it
And if you can’t pronounce it, don’t worry, I’ll help you to sound it out
Cuz you gon’ get this right, or you gon’ get out of my face.
