Color Theory - Original Poem
By Jasmine Green
Color blindness is to racial healing as a band aid is to stab wounds
Sorry if I sound harsh, here but
This is a conversation overdue
Shelved innocuously while I've listed to people raucously refer to the beauty in color blindness
You know, the "I don't see color" type while my phenotype still put under social viewing light?
And I while I listen, I think of my grandma's living room
Her old black and white TV set underneath one of full color
The revolution was televised
But regression is always in reach
I understand the intention
But is no grace in erasing what makes this country vibrant
No, I see colors
The curtains of cerulan billowing on hijabi woman's head
The deep maroon cover of a Shabbat prayer book read
The dancing of Kelly green in the eyes of Hispanic child
Mild yellow on trans woman dress
Pops of bright orange on signs of intersectional political protest
Ultramarine turban on Sikh solider
Serene violet bow tie on grandfather getting older
Crimson metal bracelet on student's only arm
Charming petal pink Syrian baby cheeks in smile wide
Heavy black jacket on retired veteran brimming with pride
The soft lavender at the ends of braids worn by black girl carefree
The culmination of colors combined in flags of LGBT plus
The ranging rainbow of melanin in skin
Cream, sienna, umber, hickory
A patchwork symbolizing what it means to pursue happiness and liberty?
How can you see it as anything short of a victory?
I do, in a way, understand
Things are changing
Tough conversations are
Hard but they are necessary
Like peroxide on the wound
Raw and tender as it may be
Fear not what burns in the moment
But what will fester later
And, for many of us, it's been festering like American dreams deferred
Like televisions the definition of an American citizen only grows higher
And I await the day you see it too
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