Stamp out wokeness

You say you want
To stamp out “wokeness”
Then turn to me
And assume
I’ll support you because our shared skin color
And you get angry
When I say “no”
No, I will not co-sign
On bigotry and hate
Because what you are really asking
Is that I silence
My black and brown sisters
I stifle
My black and brown brothers
And you want me to help you
Keep them “in their place”
You refuse to accept
Their place is HERE
Their time is NOW
And lifting them up does not diminish us
It helps us all rise to a level
Playing field
And you claim to go through life
Colorblind
But they can’t afford to do that
Because you won’t let them
And you rage when they throw off
The shackles of societal slavery
The kind that can’t sell their bodies
So it strangles their dreams
So, no, I will not help you
Stamp out wokeness
I will listen
I will learn
I will remember
I will teach my son
To stand beside them
Not to overpower their voices
But to amplify the ones
Speaking their pain
And one day
Our combined noise
Will flood the world with love
Drowning out your hate.

- Sharon Billings