I Am Tired: A Poem About Race

Last updated on: January 13, 2015 at 8:56 pm by Ahnnalise Stevens Jennings

I Am Tired: A Poem About Race 2015-01-13T20:56:46-06:00 Ahnnalise Stevens Jennings

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To all the people who are tired of talking about race.

I want you to know that I am tired too.

I am tired of white people touching my hair like I am a sheep in a petting zoo.

I am tired of being followed around stores by employees

I am tired of never being able to find foundation or pantyhose

I am tired of the looks I get from people when I walk down the street with my husband (who is White)

I am tired of the spikes of fear that go through my body when a cop looks at me too long

I am tired of being talked down to and having to guess if it is because I’m black, I’m a woman, I’m young or all three

I am tired of the anxiety caused by people wearing confederate flags and not knowing if they want to lynch me or if they “Just support the heritage, not the hate”

I am tired of having to explain the word ‘privilege’

I am tired of being asked if I like basketball, rap music, watermelons, fried chicken, kool aid, Tyler Perry and Oprah

Ahnnalise is the latest blogger to join Emerging Voices. Ahnnalise is a student at Wesley Seminary where she is studying in hopes of becoming an ordained United Methodist elder. She is currently an inter at Metropolitan Memorial United Methodist Church in Washington, DC, where she and her husband Garth live. She received bachelors degrees in religion and history from Emory & Henry College which is where she found her passion for the intersection between social justice and faith focusing on issues of race, class, gender, and sexuality. Ahnnalise is also a self proclaimed nerd who loves table top role playing games, comic book conventions, and cats

I am tired of being told that I only got my job, my admission letter, my scholarship, and my grades because I am black

I am tired of being pushed aside by people who just think I’m an “angry black woman”

I am tired of being stereotyped, and then being called an oreo, or being told by incredulous people that I am so articulate, or being asked why I don’t act Black because I do not fit the stereotype

I am tired of never seeing women like me being called beautiful.

I am tired of never seeing women like me being called powerful

I am tired of never seeing women like me at all

I am tired of people saying this isn’t about race

If you think you are tired, trying living my life. You don’t know what tired is yet. So sit down, close your mouth, and listen for once because we have a lot of work to do if you want to stop talking about race.

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