Mr. Officer

Flashing lights in the rearview window

Here we go again

Whoop whoop, the sound of the police 

10 seconds later it’s like I'm pleading for my life

Hand on his gun as I roll down my window

Heart beating of fear

Is my end near?

The plead for my life starts here

He questions me as if I am not a citizen of this country

Are you a felon?

Is your car stolen?

Is there a warrant for your arrest?

Do you have any weapons on you?

Don't move sit still. You might be next

Deep breath and I sigh, finally I have a chance to reply

I'm doing nothing wrong - I'm shaking as I testify

Filled with anger, but one wrong move and I will be in heaven listening to my mother cry

I show my Cal Berkeley ID, and soon he lets me be.

No ticket, no warning- it's like he pulled me over just for fun

Another day being a brother navigating the code of the street

I am an intellectual person of color, yet that’s something he did not see.

If I had a chance today, this is what I would say

Mr. officer

You are asking me this before you even justified the reason for why you pulled me over.

But why did you pull me over?

Is it because I am a person of color?

Is it because I have the mark of a slave?

Am I a thug driving around at 2:30 in the morning in my 1992 car that I could barely afford?

I bet you didn't know I was coming home from work, yes, a young brother making a honest dollar.

A honor student, an athlete, at the worlds best public university.

Be careful the next time you racially profile me

My intellect and poise is more powerful than your badge and gun

I know you want me to be another statistic, another dead black son

I've dealt with racism my whole life, as much as you want, your intimidation won't make me one

Thankfully I was calm on that dark Berkeley night

I can still see my mom, but I still walk with fright

So I have a question to ask to society

Is it really my Berkeley police?

I pay my taxes

Yet they've never protected me

Only contributed to my anxiety.

Mr. Jock

Mr. Jock by Blake Simons ©

Mr. Jock

Big build, curly hair, darker skin, shoulders stock

All you know is the field, in the class you never talk

Can he articulate intellectually? I think not

That was your first thought, before I even talked

Mr. professor you're wrong

You knew it after the semester was over

You said when you saw me walk in the first day of instruction that you would have never thought I would turn out to be one of the smartest in the class

I just smiled, and laughed

Shrugging it off is a normal fallacy

In my head I said what an ass

Mr. professor

Before you judge me next time

Think.

Just think before you fulfill your negative stereotypes about a person

of color who has an athletic build in a predominantly white class

So Mr. Professor..

This is my time to tell you who I AM even though you knew who I WAS by

looking at me when I walked in your class

This will be simple

You won't need a PhD to understand my life.

If this was a test you should pass.

If you knew me,

If you really knew me you would understand the struggle it’s been to

get where I am

If you knew me you would know I had to stop playing the sport I loved

for a year because of the PTSD and depression I suffer as a result of

being abused from the person society tells me to call dad

If you knew me you would know that I had two surgeries in one year and

barely stepped on the field but despite that, I am an honor student

who volunteers and gives back

A student who dreams of a better world and takes steps to change it

rather than succumbing to my pain and falling victim to the

stereotypes.

My perseverance is a constant, it never slacks

So Mr. Professor

If you knew me

You would think twice about insisting that I am only a jock

If anything

I am the furthest thing from that