Through My Eyes Poem by Craig Mize

Can you imagine? To be seen as what you are, and not what people assume of you.
To be treated with respect and dignity, like a man should be.

But no you look at me like a nigger. Just an other black man from the ghetto. Walking around with my hoodie on; bag of Skittles and a Snapple tea. Shoot me down; now you walking around like some type of hero. Thinking that you did the world a favor by getting rid if me.
A black man or through your eyes; just another nigger.

But through my eyes we are more than our black skin. We are kings and queens. Strong and powerful beings. We are made in the image of God, resilient, brilliant, and demanding of respect.

Through my eyes we are more than descendants of slaves. We have became doctors, lawyers, congressmen and women. We have even became the President of the United States.

But even with all of our accomplishments, all of our success, and triumphs; all that you see is our darker tint. Less that man is how you try to treat us. Peasants in other words. Dignity you show us none, respect is never found.  Buy still we triumph.

You beat and rape our queens, kill and chain our kings. Leaving our prince's and princesses to teach each other. Hoping that an uneducated and an uninformed mind would fall to the waist side.

Lead them to believe that black isn't beautiful, that our queens are really whores and the white woman to be praised. Teach them that we are our own worst enemy, so now we kill ourselves.

But through my eyes black is still and always will be beautiful, our queens are just that, queens. Whore they will be referred to no more. Our black kings are strong, no longer will we be fooled. We will stand side by side like the trees in the forest.

Through my eyes we are here, we are strong, we are proud. No longer will we be ashamed to be who we are; Kings and Queens. Through my eyes we are one.