Perceive me wrong perceive me right
Should it matter whether I am black
Or whether I'm white

Your perceptions aren't true
Stop and think what your negative
Intuitions will do
You will be viewed differently
Even ostracized
Based on non-facts, old stereotypes and lies

I'm not special and neither are you
We are different by the way we grew up
And by the things we do
Is it fair just to believe?
What others thought and what some might still perceive

Get to know me for yourself
Before you spread untruths to someone else
If you don't know me how can you judge 
I might not be a stick in the mud

You might be rich and I might be poor
I'm pretty sure you heard this before
But before you shun me and push me to the side
Give me a chance to test my wings and fly

If you cut me won't I bleed?
All I ask is that you be fair with me
Wait and watch just to see
What I choose to make out of me

I respect other people's opinions and views
I hate the way some have been negatively used
To harm, hurt and even destroy
What should have been happiness and a simple joy!

Perceive me just as I am
Not as what you may think that I should be
Wrong Perceptions shouldn't cause unnecessary hardships to me
This was done too often in the past
How much longer should hostility last?
Let's change our minds as well as our Views
I feel we all have paid some dues
Written by Yvonne D Tann