Black and White.
Dark and Light.
We are forever dividing ourselves.
I divide.
You divide.
He, she, we,
Divide.
Divide between privilege and underprivilege.
Divide between have and have-not.
Divide between
Black
White
Latino
Asian
Indian
And many other things beside.
We know that color is a spectrum of light,
But when it comes to race,
We don’t see it like a spectrum,
But rather as a hierarchy.
A hierarchy from black to white.
Lines clearly separating them and all the colors in between.
It is a hierarchical scale.
Each color weighs a certain amount,
And the lines are clearly drawn.
You are or you aren’t.
You are not both.
And white weighs more heavily on the scale.
More privilege.
More money.
More power.
And we weigh each other,
Never realizing that, aside from our different wrapping papers,
Beneath each skin lies the same gift.
Lies the same spectrum of emotion.
Different though we may be,
We are one species under God.
And yes,
We have different stories,
Different backgrounds,
Different cultures,
Different wrapping papers.
These are indeed differences to be acknowledged.
We are not identical.
But much like America,
Why do we not stand as United Races,
One people under God?
Why do we not respect our different cultures and stories,
And use them to learn and better each other?
As America plays the strengths of each state into one cohesive country?
Let us become equal,
Together,
United.