Roots by Amir Tazi

Roots they wanna know my roots so they shot roots just to show white liberals africans were killed and enslaved and as for our roots ? put in graves behave? I’m trying it’s just I have no sense of who I am because my roots are dying while the fruit are still hanging Jim Crow and enslavement the blood isn’t on the leaves anymore it’s splattered on pavement Reparations? they were late on those payments just imagine if I was late on mine these were my roots my great great grandma had 17 kids 11 of them illegitimate my great grandma had a bad relationship with her mom, they weren’t too intimate and my grandma was raised in North Carolina a gatskin a slave name passed on without asking but not taken cause her husband was an anderson which was probably a slave name so let’s not be mistaken my grandma left and moved out to brooklyn where my mother and along with my uncle would eat whatever was given they later moved out to Baltimore where my mom was class president from middle school to high school graduation she reminded me a lot of myself, a walking sensation but where this all started is when thousands of ships departed to a land “uncharted” where natives had lived hundreds of years before and drove to extinction by colonization and war and at the core of this mass evil was a destiny manifested by religion, privilege, and the journey to independence and they had nothing to worry about because they weren’t facing a sentence like a capital letter punishment didn’t exist for crimes against humanity they didn’t know any better oh wait we weren’t human and the information white Americans were sold was bodies and propaganda and made it ok for whites to say I can’t stand ya how has this translated in 2019 ? is so 2019 its still the same it’s just evolved in different ways shit still hasn’t been fair and nothings free there’s always fare like nearly killing someone for jumping over that 2.75 to catch the train or white consumption of black culture taking over another lane we getting cut off and no matter how hard we try to assimilate we always be nothing more than something they fucking hate creating hate amongst each other where Dominicans can’t admit their Haitian roots to kids spending 1500 dollars on balenciaga boots or when black trans women are being targeted and the whole world goes mute or disputes on who is leading who where we feel the need to be the face of every movement in order to satisfy some self improvement we’ve lost the feeling of just being beings leaving our true selves in the bottom of our shoes making it hard to walk straight hard to even come out with the truth and in truth my roots are deeply rooted in loving one another and being a statistic in rention rates and give hope to everyone that you can make it without being an athlete, a rapper, or committing felonies look where I’m at now it had to be destiny I didn’t look for anyone to see me as amazing I saw the best in me especially when my own people was testing me and when they fell in love they S-A-T as I inspired you by being an individual I made me standing up on all 10 at a PWI I feel free while you B-Y-O-B I’m getting O-U-T out to empower all the people from city ROOTS Amir Tazi it’s in my blood to extend these blue veins to all shades in the room birds cages in the room who lived their entire life for people to say there’s no space in the room we flooding those streets like katrina we venturing new shores like sandy and it makes me sad that this is the shit that wouldn’t win a Grammy but I don’t do shit for a trophy I do it for my family But then again who’s my family I mean that’s really how the fam b live my life not knowing who’s really family my roots my roots my roots deeper than your mono crop system deeper than the deepest depths of the depth present in the deep ocean that breeds depth but breaths death deeper than merely lyrical lyrics given by a fake lyrical nigga lyrically, lyrically they wanna me to make my pain into metaphors therefore it’s something scholarly something aesthetically pleasing to read “man that’s art” nigga this is my pain and i say it with great disdain Especially when ya be the same ones shooting my people with aim ive seen that bindi too many times too many times I’ve seen too many nines shot by too many blues clues there wasn’t any on us but it says something that these are the only stories anyone wants from us , like you the ithacan and we just kicking the can down the road no down the hill jack and Jill would kill for a story like this. they’d do anything to highlight my oppression and trauma like that’s all there is to us how much would it cost ? a few bucks so instead of making 7 figures myself white directors and film companies are enjoying their wealth things we don’t see, stealth when they see us, melt molten volcanic rock frozen over my soul I’m hot but deep down I’m cold I’m old I’m sold on the premise that I promise to be honest with myself in order to live sane or if not I’ll end up someone white liberals die for, Cobain talk about duality learning about my spirituality it’s not enough to be a genius enlightenment thinkers put black face on everything but Jesus my roots my roots my roots dating back to when obelisks was used to date back to my roots I rebuke any words less than great when talking about the roots the same roots who made me go on quest for self love and lose my mind in black thought my soul can never be bought and that’s love Roots they wanna know my roots so they shot roots just to show white liberals africans were killed and enslaved and as for our roots ? put in graves behave? I’m trying it’s just I have no sense of who I am because my roots are dying while the fruit are still hanging Jim Crow and enslavement the blood isn’t on the leaves anymore it’s splattered on pavement Reparations? they were late on those payments just imagine if I was late on mine these were my roots my great great grandma had 17 kids 11 of them illegitimate my great grandma had a bad relationship with her mom, they weren’t too intimate and my grandma was raised in North Carolina a gatskin a slave name passed on without asking but not taken cause her husband was an anderson which was probably a slave name so let’s not be mistaken my grandma left and moved out to brooklyn where my mother and along with my uncle would eat whatever was given they later moved out to Baltimore where my mom was class president from middle school to high school graduation she reminded me a lot of myself, a walking sensation but where this all started is when thousands of ships departed to a land “uncharted” where natives had lived hundreds of years before and drove to extinction by colonization and war and at the core of this mass evil was a destiny manifested by religion, privilege, and the journey to independence and they had nothing to worry about because they weren’t facing a sentence like a capital letter punishment didn’t exist for crimes against humanity they didn’t know any better oh wait we weren’t human and the information white Americans were sold was bodies and propaganda and made it ok for whites to say I can’t stand ya how has this translated in 2019 ? is so 2019 its still the same it’s just evolved in different ways shit still hasn’t been fair and nothings free there’s always fare like nearly killing someone for jumping over that 2.75 to catch the train or white consumption of black culture taking over another lane we getting cut off and no matter how hard we try to assimilate we always be nothing more than something they fucking hate creating hate amongst each other where Dominicans can’t admit their Haitian roots to kids spending 1500 dollars on balenciaga boots or when black trans women are being targeted and the whole world goes mute or disputes on who is leading who where we feel the need to be the face of every movement in order to satisfy some self improvement we’ve lost the feeling of just being beings leaving our true selves in the bottom of our shoes making it hard to walk straight hard to even come out with the truth and in truth my roots are deeply rooted in loving one another and being a statistic in retention rates and give hope to everyone that you can make it without being an athlete, a rapper, or committing felonies look where I’m at now it had to be destiny I didn’t look for anyone to see me as amazing I saw the best in me especially when my own people was testing me and when they fell in love they S-A-T as I inspired you by being an individual I made me standing up on all 10 at a PWI I feel free while you B-Y-O-B I’m getting O-U-T out to empower all the people from city

By: Amir Tazi ‘22