Paint Me White and I Will Still Be Black

You can paint me white and I will still be black Turn my ebony black hair, make sure the chemicals Touch every strand of my hair, erasing all trace of My pitch black kaffir but I will still be black. Teach me how to walk, tell me what to wear You can even show me your version of Civilisation yet I will still be black . Teach me your language, let me master The vocabulary, the pronunciation but remember, I will still be black Literature, science, physics,decency...yes yes Fill that in my head puncture your history in the depths Of me and feed me with your lies but I will still be black Tell me I'm wrong for my awareness, threaten me with Prison and even with my life...yes yes Persecute me with your words but still I will Be black no no I will not be a slave nor will I be less than a human being. My rights Will be intact and my freedom a shall be won Because with all you have done, all you think you have Taught me in your attempt to make me whit..o During the process of you painting me white!! I am..I am still black and concious, I am still black And proud...I am the descendant of that old slave still That man you would flog all day till there was no more Flesh left to be torn, the descendant of that wrinkled Woman you would forcefully penetrate for years on end I am that young boy, that young girl you stole away from their Families as though their hearts were just mere illusion I am black and aware of that man you Assassinated simply because he cried "freedom" Steve Biko , Chris Hani, King Albert Luthuli, MartinLuther King and Malcom X I am Sure you have heard those names I am the black daughter of that woman you Disgraced and twisted.I am black A black young woman at the peak of her life Embracing hee struggle felt history Preparing for the history to be made again So, even if you paint me white, burn my hair With your toxins, dress me like a doll Tell me how to walk, talk, sit and even eat... I will still be black as I have a free mind.