Whiteness isn’t the color of skin at birth;

whiteness is our system assigning uneven worth 

based on the color you’re 

racialized from birth.

Whiteness is when nonwhite faces 

are taken from birthplaces

to be sent across oceans and assigned a race;

when tribes are sent to forts and jails,

marched down trails—

displaced, erased, 

until white faces were commonplace,

signing declarations and gracing 

bronze statues

and twenty-dollar bills

in a system where big words 

like “all men are created equal”

obscure more telling words 

like “merciless Indian Savages”

and empty words 

like “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” 

obscure a century and a half of slave importation

that built the foundation for a nation 

where domination was based 

on who had the lightest pigmentation.

Whiteness isn’t a face–it’s a system,

and we’ve all been born into it–

and it’s time to dismantle it

from within;

and the lighter the skin,

the more responsibility lies within

to increase the value of the melanin 

that some men were born in.

By Kari Martindale, EC Poetry & Prose Member, Frederick, Maryland, United States

About the Author

Kari Martindale is a poet and spoken word artist who has read at Arts guilds across Maryland and performed at the White House.  She has been published in a number of literary journals and anthologies and nominated for a Pushcart Prize.  She sits on the Board of Maryland Writers’ Association.

Kari has served on judging panels for Maryland State Arts Council and Poetry Out Loud, and on various selection committees.  She is an instructor for Armed Services Arts Partnership.  She has visited all 50 States and over 40 countries, and holds a Master’s in Linguistics from George Mason University.

Pinterest: karilogue 
Instagram: karilogue 

Feature Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko

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Performance Artist at Hire.

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