Daily Times

We’ve been blinded

By our own ignorance.

We back our justifications

With opaque statistics

To undermine the struggle

Of an average African American

In White America because

We would rather stay

As an ultracrepidarian

Than become enlightened,

Ironic, is it not?

But I’ll ask you a simple question,

How do you deny the course of history?

As you’ve probably guessed it,

I will be giving you

A valuable history lesson,

A lesson still bedevilling

The hearts and souls

Of the black community today.

But don’t get it twisted,

This won’t be the usual prosaic lesson.

This is a timeline

Of how the black community

Went from docile to erratic,

Obedient to disobedient,

Lawful to lawless,

Manageable to dispensable.

So, shall we begin?

The perception of black people,

In the inception of slavery,

Was that of a meek nature.

They had dreams of grandeur,

An almost childlike curiosity

About the vast plains

Beyond their slave quarters

And cotton fields.

Not only were they enslaved

By their masters,

They were enslaved by their ignorance

Of a world beyond their captivity.

In the 19th century,

White actors wore black make-up

To portray black people

In order to make

Their films more “comedic”.

The 1939 classic,

‘Gone With The Wind’

Depicts slaves untroubled

By their lives, so much so,

That they even fight off the freedmen.

How lovely!

Literature wasn’t granted

Any amnesty either,

Uncle Tom’s Cabin,

A literary classic,

Portrayed Uncle Tom