Dear White America,

I'm colored and I'm proud.

You can attempt to strike me down with your institutionalized racism but you will fail. I am intelligent and I am brown. I am kind and I am brown. I am courageous and I am brown. I am gracious and I am brown.

I am flawed, but it is not because I am brown. I am flawed because I am human. Somehow in the time it took the human race to get here, you forgot that you were human too. You are not better than me because your skin in lighter. You are not smarter than me because your skin is lighter. You are not stronger than me because your skin is lighter. You are not kinder than me because your skin is lighter. You are not less flawed because your skin is lighter.

Understand.

Understand that we have the same bones 206 bones in our bodies. Understand that our hearts beat the same. Understand that our minds, though they think differently, function the same. Understand that we are equal.

Let go.

Let go of the bigotry you've been taught to hold so close. Let go of the hatred that stems from century old beliefs and ideals. Let go of the irrational notion that because our skin pigmentation varies, so does the value of our lives.

Dear White America,

I am brown and I am not afraid.

I am not afraid to be different and cultured. I am not afraid of jumping over the obstacles set out to cause my failure. I am not afraid of the cop with pale skin and trigger finger.

Pull the trigger.

You can shoot us in our streets. You can discriminate in the workplace. You can ignore us in the schools. But you'll never change that God made me BROWN and you will never change that I am proud to be BROWN.

Sincerely,

The Proud "Colored" American