Must others choose my course, preventing me to shine
those whose hair is not coarse, like mine
because of the color of my skin
i’m coerced into a battle i can’t win
and to live back then
how is it different from now
in these hardships i’m forced to plow
because of the way i dress
must other’s treat me less
i am not my hair
but employers don’t care
i’m black
i choose to live beyond the label
who say’s i can’t live stable
my ancestors fought for me
were whipped daily for me
i will prove myself beyond the label
i lived in the baddest part of the hood
but took a stand and tall i stood
my mother didn't have a college degree
but should go with out it and give up being free
should i believe this degree embarks my emancipation
with it would it consume my retardation
another label given to me
my behavior was their only confirmation
but should i allow such a label to impede me
i refuse to allow it to detain me
i will break free, even if from this label they don’t un-chain me
because of the color of my skin
it’s a grand proposition
written and signed by the color of my skin
fueling my temptation
to oppose such provocation
because my neighbors a drug dealer
and my best friends a stealer
a label is stamped to my skin
like a stain
that programs the white man’s brain
he’s one in a same
but i’ll rise above this label
i’ll receive a good education
like you ignorant i am not
i live open minded
i’m human just like you or have you forgot