You judge me by the color of my skin
You only look at me because of my gender
But you'll probably never really see me
Until you look in my eyes
And when you do you'll see
The past, present and future of of my history
All of my miseries
But it's just a mystery
I'll ask you what you see
But you’ll probably never get past
The big brown circles, long lashes
But if you take the time to look deeper you’ll see
A reflection of my life,
My story,
The story of those before
Those who brought me here
Maya Angelou and Malcolm X,
Who liked to speak about what was true
Leaving nothing hidden in the dark
Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks,
Who left their great marks upon the world
Raven Symone and Alicia Keys
Who represent African Americans as beauties
The list could go on because there are so many who have been here since the beginning of dawn.
They are the roots of the tree and I am merely just one of the leaves
So I ask you again, when you look at me what do you see?
Do you see what I see when I look in the mirror
Or do you just see a black girl
-another black girl lost in this world
-a world she just happen to be on
Or an African girl with a rich history rooted deep into the world
Because really and truly my soul has been here since the beginning of time,
It’s just now that you see my face in the light
And their hearts within mine.