Poetry 2018

I don’t understand why I have to leave my home because I am Jewish I don’t understand why me being Jewish is making everyone want to kill me I don’t understand I don’t understand why me being black makes people so mad or why I can’t go to the other water fountain I don’t understand I don’t understand why because I am a Japanese I have to leave the state I was born in or why people are are calling me a Jap I don’t understand I don’t understand why me being a woman means I can’t vote and why I have to cook and clean I don’t understand G.B.

I remember The angry mobs cursing at and hurting black people I remember Sirens blaring through the neighborhood and nobody thinking twice I remember My mother and father teaching me to hate black people I remember Kids at lunch who thought that we should all kill the blacks because of their race I remember My brother being rude and offensive to every black man he came across I remember My father and my mother talking about what the white people need to do to kill the blacks I remember People screaming and crying on the sidewalk after an explosion or gunshot I remember Listening to the news hearing the broadcasters make nasty comments about blacks

I remember My mother calling blacks terrible names I remember Being taught that we were superior to blacks I remember My father saying he wanted to kill Martin Luther King Jr. I remember The injustice and inequality of the civil rights movement

L.A.

I Am on The Trail of Tears

I am on the Trail of Tears I wonder where we are going I hear people walking I see the nature around me I want to go back home I am on the Trail of Tears I pretend that I am fine I feel scared I worry that we aren’t going to have a home anymore I cry because most of my family died I am on the Trail of Tears I understand that people die I say that I’m okay I dream that this will be over soon I try to be brave I hope I will be able to live on this new land I am on the Trail of Tears

H.C.

I Don't Understand I don't understand why they took all our stuff why we could not bring animals along why we had to leave our home But most of all why did the Cherokees have to leave why did the white men get our land why was the food so gross What I understand most is, we had strong beliefs our strength helped us survive we did not all die--we are Cherokee

W.F.

Holocaust

I am Jewish I wonder what is beyond the fence I hear someone’s last breath I see propaganda and discrimination I want to be liberated I am Jewish I pretend that I’m not dying I feel hopeless I worry for my family I cry for everyone I am Jewish I understand that we’re hated I beg them not to hurt us I dream of my old life I try to be happy I hope I will live I am Jewish A.F.

Trail of Tears

I Remember...The scared faces

I Remember...The bystanders

I Remember...The whispers I Remember...The sore feet I Remember...The rain I Remember‌The tears I Remember...The death I Remember...The soldiers I Remember...The sad, sunken eyes I Remember...The stories I Remember...The Trail of Tears

A.F.

I remember Everything was peaceful I remember That everybody could go on the streets in peace I remember People could buy books anywhere they wanted I remember That all of that changed for a lot of people I remember All of the hatred toward one religion I remember People being killed just for something that they believed in I remember The bunkers, the food, the guard towers, the gas chambers.

I remember Talking to my friends over a fence where I could barely see them I don’t just remember; we remember.

We remember Our families getting taken away and killed We remember Having bad dreams and thinking this isn’t as bad as the Holocaust We remember How 11 million people were murdered We remember When we got out, liberated We remember Going home and hoping our family would be there too We will always remember The effect the Holocaust had on our lives.

J.F.

I Remember Social Studies

I Remember The Trail Of Tears Unit, Where We Learned About The Native Americans Who Were Forced Out Of Their Homes To Get To The Promised Land I Remember The Women’s Rights Movement Unit, Where We Learned About The Struggle Women Went Through To Get Their Suffrage And Rights I Remember The Holocaust Unit, Where We Learned About The Pain And Sorrow Anne Frank And The Rest Of The Jews In Germany Went Through To Try And Stay Alive I Remember The Japanese Internment Unit, Where Japan Bombed Pearl Harbor And The President Decided To Put All People With Japanese Ancestry In Internment Camps To Make The Rest Of The People Feel Safe I Remember The Civil Rights Unit, Where Rosa Parks Refused To Give Up Her Seat To Help Black People Get Their Rights I Remember Social Studies J.G.

Turning Fear Into Change

I am afraid of the police.

I am afraid of the aggressive and threatening racist white people.

I am afraid of dying, of getting bombed or even shot because of my skin color.

I am afraid that if we don’t fight to end segregation that it will never end and we will always be segregated.

I am afraid that our peaceful protests will turn violent.

I am afraid that our leaders may give up.

I am afraid that I may give up.

I am afraid that if I don’t stand up for equality, my children will never know what it means to be free.

I believe that it is time for segregation to end.

I know that if we want to live life to the fullest, we need to realize that we are all created equal.

I understand that people are afraid of change because it is different.

I want to be considered equal to everyone around me, regardless of race and color.

I want to sit on the bus, drink from the water fountain, go to school, eat at the restaurant, use the bathroom and not have to think about how the color of my skin determines which one I have to use.

I want to be friends with whoever I want to be friends with.

I want to be able to go outside and not be afraid of getting shot.

I want to be judged for who I am and not for the color of my ancestors’ skin.
 I want to be able to help to change history in a good way and change it for the better.

S.K.

Hold on to hope Even when they make you walk 2000 miles away from home Even as the harsh winter bites Even as the dead fall beside you Hold on to hope Hold on to passion Even when your husband controls you Even when you can’t speak your mind Even when they tell you your opinion is worthless Hold on to passion Hold on to love Even when they kill everyone you love in the chambers Even when they work you to the bone Even when they take away everything else Hold on to love Hold on to pride Even when your heritage becomes your enemy Even when they take all your possessions And trap you behind a barbed-wire fence Hold on to pride Hold on to courage Even when they bomb your house Even when they hang your brother Even when they shoot your leader Hold on to courage

Hold on to who you are Even if you are Native American, a women, a Jew, Japanese, or AfricanAmerican Even when they say that is wrong Even when they hate you for it Hold on to who you are K.K.

I Remember

I remember walking down the streets and getting dirty looks I remember getting called racial slurs I remember all the fear my family and I had when just stepping outside I remember the bats and clubs that were swung at me I remember the fear of getting murdered I remember the first time Dr. King spoke and how I felt I was in euphoria with every word he said I remember Rosa Parks not giving up her bus seat for a white man, that built up more courage for us to stand up for our rights I remember how brave I felt when I went on marches I remember when the sit ins took place and how empowered I was sitting on that stool I remember how this movement changed our rights forever I remember everything.

G.L.

What’s so different about us?

Is it that you have a better education than me?

That you’re rich and I’m poor?

Or is it the color of my skin?

What’s the difference, one lighter than the other?

Do you think I choose to have darker skin?

What did I do to you to make you hate me?

If anything, I should be mad You beat us and kill us, Act like you’re better, We’re not the ones who kill little children, Who hang others, Who burn down houses, You can be called many things, I’m sorry if we did something to you, But since when did we chant 2, 4, 6, 8 we don’t segregate?

When did we frighten little children?

When did we bomb churches with children inside Or yell at a woman for not wanting to walk in the rain?

When did we kill someone for wanting change?

When did we get away with murdering others?

I know that there are some whites who aren’t like that, I know that not all blacks are peaceful, I also know that one voice can change the world, But only if you listen and put all of your soul into it, Will you hear our suffering?

I know you’re only human So I can only hope that you have humanity

H.M.

Falling Walls

Everybody was black or white, There was nothing gray between.

White walls were always present, Denying people access to their rights; They stood strong and unbreakable.

There were people that were called blacks, And there were people that were called whites.

The blacks were different from the whites, In appearance.

But they were still living souls, With lives and families and hopes and dreams; They were treated as if they weren’t people Because of the color of their skin.

People across the nation Had been raised to accept Discrimination, servitude, and injustice; To hate people for what they couldn’t control.

It led to years of pride and vanity And lifetimes of hatred and fear.

The blacks had to try to change something, because The content of their character Was left unmeasured.

The self-evident truth that all men are created equal Was not clear to all.

So they tried.

Protests were held.

Instead of taking up seats on the busses, They took up walking to work!

Instead of accepting the fact that they were given less, They demanded access to more!

Instead of standing still and silent, They marched on Washington and demanded jobs and freedom!

Things began to change; What was once black and white was now gray.

The white walls that had always been present Were no longer denying people access to their rights; They crumbled and fell.

A.S.

I Remember...

I remember Kristallnacht, The broken glass, fires, and screams.

I remember the ghettos, The word “Jude� written on my chest.

I remember the trains, With people too close together to move.

I remember my family, Being ripped from my grasp.

I remember the Nazis, The red and black bands on their arms.

I remember the gas chambers, And taking my last breath.

A.S.

I am American I am An American I wonder When people will understand that about me I hear People say that I am not an American I see Posters about me I want People to understand I am An American I pretend To look like I am not shooketh I feel Worried about my family and friends I worry About every Japanese American living on the west coast I cry Every night knowing I might be taken away from everything I know I am An american I don’t understand Why people think I’m the enemy

I say That I’m fine when I really am scared I dream Of the day I get taken away I try To keep calm but I can’t I hope To one day be the most free man there ever was I am An American ————————————————————————————————— I am afraid of getting beaten I am afraid of getting arrested I am afraid to go outside I am afraid shopping I am even afraid of walking down the street I want freedom I want to not be afraid I want people to stop being prejudice I want the best out of life Most of all I want peace

E.S.

Trail of Tears

I remember Being pulled from the only place I would ever call home.

I was destroyed to see My grandma being pulled onto a wagon by two white men.

I remember Crying every night for the future I could have, for the smiles I could have given.

I was destroyed to see My kind hearted grandma fall to the ground, taking her last stand.

I remember Walking, walking, and walking, seeing the mountain and my memories, vanish from sight.

I was destroyed to see Mile after mile of dead bodies near trees, near water, and near rocks, letting their spirits free...

I remember Watching my father getting lashed on the face.

I was destroyed to see The empty land that was not home, that I was not prepared for, and that was not mine.

My Journey was long and rough, but my spirit is wise, strong, and prepared.

H.W.