Brown Skin
In the 3rd grade, the boy at recess said I shouldn’t wear shorts
In the 4th grade, the girls at the table said I should always wear long sleeves
My skin is dark and so is my hair
And that to them
Was a problem
It wasn’t beautiful, it was gross and weird
It was something I was taught to cover up
Taught to be afraid of my own skin
Imagine that.
In the 6th grade I was called a dot head
I’m Muslim, not Hindu
In the 7th grade I was told to go back to my country
I was born in Brooklyn, New York
The United States of America
is my country
I was judged by my skin color before I even opened my mouth
They made up in their minds that I wasn’t “American” by the time they heard my name
I was deemed as an outsider the minute I stepped into the room
People were full of questions they didn’t know how to ask
So instead they hid their curiosity behind insults and big egos
In the 10th grade things changed
People saw me as “exotic” and “foreign” because of the henna on my hands and the elaborate jewelry I wore on special occasions
In the 11th grade I was asked questions about my culture
Where I come from, what languages I can speak, what Gods I believe in
They thought I was an alien, not from the same soil as them
As if we weren’t all made with the same hearts and brains
2 eyes, one nose, 10 fingers, blood running through all our veins
See the problem not only lies in parents not telling their kids to treat everyone the same
It lies in us not telling our kids to be confident
In telling them that people aren’t allowed to pick them apart
Which leads them to believe they are in a category in which they must stay in
A category that can be also seen as racial profiling and discrimination
A category in which as a brown skinned individual
I am stuck in
A category that has yet to be broken
But if we teach our kids that confidence is key
Then we’ve taught them to be happy in their skin and to love themselves
With all that self-love they won’t have time to think they are in a category
Or allow people to pick them apart
So this is to that girl in the 3rd grade
Wear those shorts when your mom picks them out for you
Stick your tongue out at that boy and tell him you are still beautiful
Don’t let his words defeat you, don’t let them put you in a box
Show everyone in your life you are not only what is on the outside
And when they come to love you they must love all of you
For you are your culture, your values, your paisley henna designs, your sequenced shalwar,
You are your dark hair,
And you are your brown skin
You are made to sparkle
You are made to twinkle
Now it’s time
To let that brown skin shine
