It's not the worst you'll ever say,
I might think it polite to address me this way.
A good man is what I am, no different, no less.
I look like my momma, a true queen,a princess.

Tell me I'm black,
and I'll call you a fiend,
an inhuman being,
a coward and no sting.

Tell me I'm black,
and I'll say Mr. please,
Thank you, I'm only human,
shy of perfection and ashy knees.

Thank God I am colored,
and not as plain as the sand,
I speak fortunes from many nations,
of heroes who take stands.

So say that I'm white for being this way,
but I'll call you white back for all the ill things you say.
You'll laugh and spread jokes,
dirty rumors and mad lies,
yet the truth shall set me free,
I speak words from the wise.

Tell me I'm different,
because I march to inspire change.
I don't always move between conventional lanes.
Instead I swerve flawlessly and unmistakably about,
I know only indifference and choose my own route.

I prayed to God last week
for cold facts, will power, and strength
and today he yelled back,
that as long as I was black,
one thing would never change,
He would always love me
and all his people,
everyone the same.