I pledge allegiance
to the flag
of the United States of America
but listen
this pledge comes with questions.
Because how do we say
“Land of the free”
without remembering whose land this was
before thirteen colonies stitched themselves into history.
How do we call human beings “illegal”
on stolen land?
We can’t be illegal on stolen land.
I pledge allegiance
to truth.
To the first footsteps on this soil
that were not European.
To the bloodlines that existed
before borders were inked
like permanent scars across earth.
And now we argue about
U.S immigration and customs enforcement
raids and roundups,
about whom belongs and who doesn’t
but excuse me
are we not still under one nation?
One nation.
Indivisible.
Or did we skip that line
when the news got uncomfortable?
They say protect the border.
They say protect the jobs.
They say protect the culture.
But who protects the people
whose only crime
is hunger?
is hope?
is crossing a line
drawn by men who never asked the earth
what it wanted?
And as for leadership
A leader unites.
A leader listens.
A leader does not build his name
higher than the people he’s sworn to serve.
Donald trump.
may hold a title,
but a title is not the same as trust.
A microphone is not the same as moral compass.
Because we all bleed the same color.
Red.
Not Republican red.
Not Democrat blue.
Just human red.
So why should immigrants
be treated different?
Why should people of color
be treated different?
When our veins
do not segregate blood?
I pledge allegiance
to the idea
that justice should not check passports
before it checks humanity.
I pledge allegiance
to classrooms filled with accents,
to neighborhoods that smell like
ten different kitchens at once,
to children who speak two languages
and call this place home.
This country is strongest
when it remembers
it is built by many hands.
Black hands.
Brown hands.
White hands.
Hands that picked cotton.
Hands that built railroads.
Hands that coded software.
Hands that raised flags
even when the flag did not always raise them.
We are still here.
Still breathing.
Still believing that liberty
should not be selective.
Because if we are truly
one nation
then liberty is not a privilege.
Justice is not conditional.
Freedom is not paperwork.
So, when I pledge allegiance,
I pledge to the people
all of them.
Undocumented and documented.
Descendants of settlers and descendants of slaves.
Descendants of those who were here
before any of it.
Under one sky.
On one contested, complicated, sacred land.
With liberty
and justice
for all.
Apr 11
Apr 11, 2026 at 12:00 PM UTC
I pledge allegiance
to the flag
of the United States of America
but listen
this pledge comes with questions.
Because how do we say
“Land of the free”
without remembering whose land this was
before thirteen colonies stitched themselves into history.
How do we call human beings “illegal”
on stolen land?
We can’t be illegal on stolen land.
I pledge allegiance
to truth.
To the first footsteps on this soil
that were not European.
To the bloodlines that existed
before borders were inked
like permanent scars across earth.
And now we argue about
U.S immigration and customs enforcement
raids and roundups,
about whom belongs and who doesn’t
but excuse me
are we not still under one nation?
One nation.
Indivisible.
Or did we skip that line
when the news got uncomfortable?
They say protect the border.
They say protect the jobs.
They say protect the culture.
But who protects the people
whose only crime
is hunger?
is hope?
is crossing a line
drawn by men who never asked the earth
what it wanted?
And as for leadership
A leader unites.
A leader listens.
A leader does not build his name
higher than the people he’s sworn to serve.
Donald trump.
may hold a title,
but a title is not the same as trust.
A microphone is not the same as moral compass.
Because we all bleed the same color.
Red.
Not Republican red.
Not Democrat blue.
Just human red.
So why should immigrants
be treated different?
Why should people of color
be treated different?
When our veins
do not segregate blood?
I pledge allegiance
to the idea
that justice should not check passports
before it checks humanity.
I pledge allegiance
to classrooms filled with accents,
to neighborhoods that smell like
ten different kitchens at once,
to children who speak two languages
and call this place home.
This country is strongest
when it remembers
it is built by many hands.
Black hands.
Brown hands.
White hands.
Hands that picked cotton.
Hands that built railroads.
Hands that coded software.
Hands that raised flags
even when the flag did not always raise them.
We are still here.
Still breathing.
Still believing that liberty
should not be selective.
Because if we are truly
one nation
then liberty is not a privilege.
Justice is not conditional.
Freedom is not paperwork.
So, when I pledge allegiance,
I pledge to the people
all of them.
Undocumented and documented.
Descendants of settlers and descendants of slaves.
Descendants of those who were here
before any of it.
Under one sky.
On one contested, complicated, sacred land.
With liberty
and justice
for all.
Slam poetry
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