Black Skin/White Skin

by Rebekah Leigh Sweete - Aries

It's sad, really, that prior to arriving at this school
I had not been exposed to much diversity at all
All the black people I knew
acted just like me and my blonde, blue eyed friends
so I thought that was how it was everywhere
and I would preach to my aging father about how
Black people and white people are exactly the same
But once I came to this school
I realized that we are indeed a world apart
and prejudice is a two way street 
For the first time in my life I am the minority
and I am hated because I do not like hip hop
and I did not grow up in the city
and I do not have a ghetto mentality
and my skin is the pale translucent color of skim milk
For the first time in my life I realize that 
black skin and white skin are really very different
not because either one carries with it inherited traits
but because of learned behaviors
I thought that I had influenced my dad's attitude
toward black people more than he had influenced mine
but I was wrong
Here at this school I learned that I really am prejudiced
but I am not the only one...

Reason for writing:

    I realize that this might offend some people, and that is not my intention.    

Birth sign: Aries
Date created: 2001-01-29 13:10:07
Last updated: 2021-03-03 14:43:27
Poem ID: 59883

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