The Thickness of Racism

Image: from Pexels

Prejudice is only skin deep
this is the thickness of racism.

It appears without warning;
in fact, It was socially constructed centuries ago
and exposed and sold as a way of discriminating 
in a variety of guises...of making a fine distinction.

It is so embedded in some cultures
that people are unaware, unconscious 
of their mindset developing in an 
'ignorance is bliss' context.

The ability to discriminate is a precious facility
but in the wrong hands, it will bite like a mosquito
or buzz around you like a bee;

It can rear its ugly head in a myriad of guises
And sometimes it will come alive
in such force, it will feel as if you've been slapped in the face.

So the pointless death of another black man
captured on video in the US
and seeping into the UK
evolves into a  belief 
that a man has to be up to something criminal.

Prejudice is only skin deep
this is the thickness of racism.

11th poem for NaPoWriMo2017

ⓒ Nicole Moore