I was born into a world,
A world with a sickness,
That sickness is racial bias,
Well meaning family would tell me,
Who was the enemy,
Society would repeat,
Old prejudices and bigotry,
One day I realized,
These people are my brothers,
My sisters,
My siblings in this long struggle,
They don’t have to look like me,
To invoke my humanity,
To the woman who lost her husband,
Raped and tortured in Abu Ghraib,
I’m so sorry for what they did,
To the family who lost their mother,
To a landmine set in the street,
I wish you didn’t have to be racked with grief
My skin may be white,
But for you I will fight,
Because doing what is right,
Is a part of my healing,
Love erases hatred,
Truth destroys ignorance,l