Acknowledgments

e Kaitlyn Drake

Chalk was used to create this artwork of two female and two male individuals. The top left portion of the face is a male Native American, the top right is an African American female, the bottom left is a Asian female and the bottom right is a White male.

Maybe Not

What’s the first thing you see when you look at me?

My mind? My heart? My soul? My skin?

His is black. Maybe he doesn’t have a father figure. Maybe he dropped out of school. Maybe he’ll steal your wallet. Maybe…maybe…maybe… Or, maybe not.

Hers is white. Maybe her parents make six figures. Maybe she has her whole life mapped out. Maybe you can smile and wave to her on the street. Maybe…maybe…maybe… Or, maybe not.

His is yellow. Maybe his parents want him to be a doctor. Maybe he just aced the calculus test. Maybe he is an awful driver. Maybe…maybe…maybe… Or, maybe not.

Hers is red. Maybe her parents are alcoholics. Maybe she lives on the reservation. Maybe she’ll stay there her whole life. Maybe…maybe…maybe… Or, maybe not.

What’s the first thing you see?

A beautiful mind? A kind heart? A pure soul?

Colored skin?

e Darien Minor Black AmeriKKKa

Through all my years of life I’ve learned The knowledge of our past, neglected The wisdom of our mistakes burned And never to be fully reflected We’ve fought and killed and fought again Until the fight has lost its aim We try to stand up to the man But it turns out we’re just a game We’ve told ourselves to “fight the power” Hoping it would make us stronger But maybe we just spent these hours Forcing our fight to be longer Maybe we should stop and muse Of things to make our culture grow And fill the world with worthwhile news Until they see that we can glow But the life we know runs in a hoop A circle we can’t seem to break We think the answer is to shoot It’s a ying-yang symbol made of hate and hate And soon we’ll have more things at stake Our lives are esoteric A language understood by you and me Too bad we’re in America Not spelled with “C” but with “K” times 3