All Men Are Equal

A poem by Olamide Seriki, age 14, St Oliver’s Community College, Drogheda, Co Louth

Every time a child was getting kidnapped from their house

They were brought to a different country to get maltreated like a mouse

And then the N word came along

To tell everyone how black people were always wrong

What is going on?

“Aren’t they meant to be having fun?”

“All men are equal”

But not yet because there is a sequel

They could not avoid black people

So, they decided to make fun of the “evil”

From copying their actions, lips and skin

To making fun of the way they walk, talk and grin

It was like they would never get to live their lives again

Until the 1960s where people could only understand then

That their actions were not a good trait to have

In fact all they were doing was splitting the new world into half

It is not like black people were the only ones suffering during these times

People before them were also confronting these crimes

Native Americans were being forced from their homes

To be a navigator for some colonisers going into the unknown

Even now people still have the audacity to say

The indigenous people stole their land. Either way

“All men are equal” but these things were still not illegal

Bob Marley and Nelson Mandela

Great examples of people standing up against this dilemma

However, there are two other people that I have in mind

Who I think were really able to stand up to the tests of time

Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King

Showed a world that racism shouldn’t be accepted in

Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on her bus

Then sat there in retaliation not caring about the amount of fuss

That she was causing for other people on the same ride

She did not let her guard down and she would not be pushed aside

Then Martin Luther King gave his “I have a dream” speech

From the amount of facts he was stating, it was like he went there to preach

Who knows maybe all his dreams will come true

So this hatred and disgust would not have to continue

We are living in the 21st century

Yet, racism is still completely unnecessary

“All men are equal,” right?

If you want the truth, you better hold tight…

In 2020, George Floyd was killed

And through social media it was quickly revealed

That a white police officer had kneeled down on his throat

Until he could no longer breath. There was no more to decode

George Floyd was a black man

It is clear the officer was not a fan

“I can’t breath!” is what he continued to say

The officer knows that now and knew on that same day

He was like those bullies that schools advertise,

Except this time, it cost someone’s life.

The world began protesting

Black peoples lives weren’t seen as uninteresting

Racism was being noticed in all races

And there was a moment where I enjoyed these changes

It was when BLM was becoming a trend

That I felt I could no longer pretend

What people were doing was perfectly fine

In fact it was just starting up more racist crime

Asians are now being called viruses

Because people believe Covid-19 started from their practices

Native Americans are still being accused of stealing land.

It was rightfully theirs in the first-hand.

Hispanics and Latinos are drug dealers!

People really need to sit down on some bleachers

To reflect and think about what they say and do

“Why in the world does someone’s race and skin colour affect you?”

“All men are equal” is what everyone agreed

So how long until everyone is freed?

How long until we can succeed?

How long until peace is guaranteed?

I am a black teenager living in 2022

Who wants their life to be as privileged as you

So, if you could please do me a favour,

I swear it is nothing major,

Educate the ones who are wrong

So, I can feel like I belong

In a world where I am seen as less

No one should have to feel that kind of distress

Maya Angelou wrote a famous poem called “Still I Rise”

I would like to share a quote with you that I find rather wise.

“I am a black ocean, leaping and wide”

Yes, I am a black ocean and I am not going to hide.