Poetic Interlude: The Epitome of Oppression by M. Abla

The Epitome of Oppression
Holding on to six letters modified to five,
When our ancestors were alive it was not a joke
Provoked and put down, yoked up by tattered collars

Fast forward to present time…
I know! Why don’t we embrace the word that
degraded yours and mine.
Hold onto the word for dear life,
Caress it regardless of the inner strife.

Let’s decorate it and put on bows
Of killing the “er” and adopting an “a”
Let’s put it on a pedestal and use it
To just say “hey”

Let’s justify its use because it is OUR word not theirs
Because it is a term of endearment
Because by not using it we give the power back to them
Because why not use it…it sounds cool, doesn’t it?

I’m excited! We are using a word that was wrongly righted
To describe our family and friends
Constantly including it in songs and slang till the end
Oh no but it is different this time,
We dismissed the “er” and added the “a”, didn’t we?

Of course! 'Brotha', 'sista', and 'my love' aren’t good anymore
So let’s use a derogatory word and change them...
Make our minds like closed doors!

Oh yeah and let’s say no one else can use it
Even though there is nothing wrong with it
It is a term of endearment, right?
But they cannot say it because then it is offensive.

That makes so much sense, we are so smart
We figured out a way to take back an insulting word
And set it apart.

But, wait a minute…
Saying nigga instead of nigger,
Isn’t that like changing sister to sista?
It is the same word with the same meaning
If we are so proud of it, why when others say it,
Oh now it’s demeaning?

That doesn’t make sense, there is nothing right about that
It doesn’t fit the facts

The word was used for oppression
And it should stay in the past
If we continue using the word
Are we really, like Martin said, “free at last?”