The Descendant's Uprising by Akili Debrady

Our African ancestors have suffered through murder, torture, and rape

Fighting against a personality beaten into us, that constantly tries to escape

Racists say we’re dangerous and violent

They tell their kids to stay away

But how’s that what they say when this dissension is just an extension of how they mistreated us that way

With the blisters on our hands and feet, the whip marks on our backs

Oh yes, God knows I have whip marks on my back

They’re just invisible to those who can’t see why I’m torn just because I was born black

Alienated by the very land my predecessors cultivated

Denied my rights because the melanin in my skin is evident

Hatred is no justification for a 400 year cycle of sin

And still it goes on

Racism may take different shapes but its power is still strong

Prejudice is inherited

Passed down from generations, spread throughout nations, and used to ensnare us in it

When the whip first cracked it created this trap

One only inescapable when you think you’re not capable of fighting back

This should spark a fire in the soul of every black

We were forcefully brought here, yet told we don’t belong here

How can a people group stand for that

The waves of change cannot be found on a slave ship

Justice is attained if you’re willing to claim it

It’s racists who say that we’re dangerous and violent

But we won’t be beaten, and we won’t be silenced