What Did We Do?

Written By: D Parker

I can’t help but ask,
what did we do
to make them hate us so much?

What did we do,
but live?
But breathe?
But want the same right to be free,
to be treated as human?

What did we do?
What did we do?
What did we do?

Is it because our melanated skin
glows like fire in the sun?
Oh, I know… I know.
It’s because we refused to work for free.
Because we learned our worth.
Because we stand proud,
even under the weight of centuries of pain.

Is it because we know that Black is beautiful,
that we honor our heritage,
and bow our heads in gratitude to our ancestors?

Or is it fear,
fear that one day,
we might treat them
the way they have treated us
since they chained and carried our people away?
Fear that we will rise from the breaking of our spirits,
scarred but unshaken,
burn with a flame
they thought they could dim?

Our DNA remembers.
The pain is etched deep,
like a mark that never fades.
Our bodies carry it.
Our voices carry it.
Our spirits carry it.

So I ask again,
what did we do
to make them hate Black and Brown people
so much?

What did we do?
What did we do?
What did we do?

It's all small steps to a giant, I know this to be true and with these steps, we will continue to rise!

D~Parker 9.16.2025