Teens in Print
  • About Us
    • About Teens in Print
    • Meet the Staff
  • Browse Writing
    • By Topic
      • Cultural Criticism
      • Life During COVID-19
      • School and Career
      • Arts, Entertainment & Food
      • Science, Health & Technology
      • National and Global Issues
      • Local Issues
    • By Genre
      • Reviews & Listicles
      • Creative Writing
      • Opinion Writing
      • News
      • Personal Essays
      • Advocacy Letters
      • Multimedia
    • By Author
      • Cimmaron Holman Jr.
      • Ella Verinder
      • Gloria Ekechukwu
      • Graham Martin-Wilson
      • Isaiah Roseau
      • Ketura Joseph
      • Lily Castello
      • Shaniece Clarke
      • More authors
  • For Teachers
  • Get Involved
    • Join Teens in Print
    • Collaborate
    • Volunteer
    • Contact Us
Teens in Print

Type and hit Enter to search

Teens in Print
  • About Us
    • About Teens in Print

    We’re a writing program for Boston students. Learn about our approach and what we offer.

    • Meet The Staff
    Get to know the writing mentors behind Teens in Print.
  • Browse Writing
    • By Topic
    • Cultural Criticism
    • Life During COVID-19
    • School and Career
    • Arts, Entertainment & Food
    • Science, Health & Technology
    • National and Global Issues
    • Local Issues
    • By Genre
    • Reviews & Listicles
    • Creative Writing
    • Opinion Writing
    • News
    • Personal Essays
    • Advocacy Letters
    • Multimedia
    • Teens in Print Magazine
    • By Author
    • Cimmaron Holman Jr.
    • Ella Verinder
    • Gloria Ekechukwu
    • Graham Martin-Wilson
    • Isaiah Roseau
    • Ketura Joseph
    • Lily Castello
    • Shaniece Clarke
    • More authors
  • For Teachers
    • Use TiP in your classroom

    Model skills or genres using mentor texts by students.

  • Get Involved
    • Join Teens in Print

    We’re always looking for new voices. Boston students from grades 8 – 12 are welcome to apply.

    • Collaborate
    We offer workshops for educators and community organizations. Drop us a line to partner with Teens in Print.
    • Volunteer
    Lend your expertise to Teens in Print as an editor, writing mentor, guest speaker, or more.
    • Contact Us
    Reach out to Teens in Print.

Type and hit Enter to search

Teens in Print
  • About Us
    • About Teens in Print

    We’re a writing program for Boston students. Learn about our approach and what we offer.

    • Meet The Staff
    Get to know the writing mentors behind Teens in Print.
  • Browse Writing
    • By Topic
    • Cultural Criticism
    • Life During COVID-19
    • School and Career
    • Arts, Entertainment & Food
    • Science, Health & Technology
    • National and Global Issues
    • Local Issues
    • By Genre
    • Reviews & Listicles
    • Creative Writing
    • Opinion Writing
    • News
    • Personal Essays
    • Advocacy Letters
    • Multimedia
    • Teens in Print Magazine
    • By Author
    • Cimmaron Holman Jr.
    • Ella Verinder
    • Gloria Ekechukwu
    • Graham Martin-Wilson
    • Isaiah Roseau
    • Ketura Joseph
    • Lily Castello
    • Shaniece Clarke
    • More authors
  • For Teachers
    • Use TiP in your classroom

    Model skills or genres using mentor texts by students.

  • Get Involved
    • Join Teens in Print

    We’re always looking for new voices. Boston students from grades 8 – 12 are welcome to apply.

    • Collaborate
    We offer workshops for educators and community organizations. Drop us a line to partner with Teens in Print.
    • Volunteer
    Lend your expertise to Teens in Print as an editor, writing mentor, guest speaker, or more.
    • Contact Us
    Reach out to Teens in Print.
Creative Writing

This is America

Tiffany James Duncan
October 30, 2020 2 Mins Read
288 Views
0 Comments

My hair is beautiful, not untamed like you say

My voice is powerful, not dangerous everyday 

My skin is beauty, not a weapon I pray 

This is America, a cruel place, I would say 

My brother shouldn’t fear for his life, every step he takes 

He should not have to change the clothes he wears to get by the day 

He shouldn’t have to get pulled over without people fearing he’s a threat 

This is a America, a vicious trap we get 

We should be able to stand together as equal, 

Not fear for one’s life every time it gets evil 

They judge us because of the color of our skin, not the beautiful talent we bring out and in

Once again, this is America, a bitter storm 

When are we going to start getting treated the same 

When are we gonna stop worrying we won’t get through the day 

When are we going to stand together as one 

When are we going to get back the time we fought for our rights 

‍

This is America 

This is the place everyone wanted to be in

This is the place someone would spend their whole life fighting for 

Welp, this is America repeating itself 

In a decade from now are we still going to have to fight for our rights 

In a decade from now would our future generations have to go thought the same pain 

In a decade from now would schools still hide the true history of America 

In a decade from now would a black and white person be able to join hands with one another without getting judged 

In a decade from now would America ever change 

This is America 

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Tags:

cultural criticismNational and Global IssuesTiffany James Duncan

Share Article

Read more by this author Written By

Tiffany James Duncan

Next
November 6, 2020

A strange night of pizza and ‘2K’

Previous
October 29, 2020

Working on ourselves during quarantine

You might also like

Red siren

Holland Tech Vignette: Episode 3

Raesha Rivera
January 29, 2025
Raised fist, a symbol of Black power

Unapologetically Black Thriving in Spaces That Weren’t Built for Us

Arianna Murphy
January 24, 2025
Image of Jason Talbot sitting on grass with painting behind him

Artist For Humanity alumni mentors the next generation of artists

Jazlynn Truong
August 14, 2023
Image of comics courtesy of Joel Muniz on Unsplash

The decline of quality Marvel movies

Jacob Tucker
August 3, 2023

Subscribe to our newsletter and get student writing delivered to your inbox.

Sign me up
Teens in Print
We’re a writing program and publication for Boston students.

2025 © Teens in Print All rights reserved.

Quick Links

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Browse Articles
  • Join Teens in Print
  • Contact Us
  • About our parent organization, WriteBoston
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy

Keep up with TiP

Instagram Twitter Youtube