Knowing
I will never know. It will never be me.
Because
this yellow skin of mine
of which the world does not deem dangerous.
Because
this yellow skin of mine
is trapped in fantasies,
as fetishes.
Because
this yellow skin of mine
embodies powerlessness,
submissiveness.
Because
this yellow skin of mine
is the subject of domination.
But even I have privileges.
I don’t know
the taste of injustice
that my black brothers and sisters know,
My father will never be Alton,
I will never be Tamir
because of
this yellow skin of mine.
This ignorance is my privilege,
but it does not excuse
a blind eye,
inaction,
disengagement.
No.
This ignorance,
this privilege,
is precisely why
we must act,
we must engage,
we must stand alongside our black brothers and sisters,
because they do know.