Undying loyalty and passion
Plus extreme desperation
Minus great opportunity
Times belief in something better
Equals me…
A product of my environment
Homegrown Muslim values
Plus strict family structure
Divided by custody battles
Times infinite faith in love
Equals me…
A product of my environment
Streets paved with dreams deferred
Plus sun that dries these raisins
Minus drugs that numb the pain
Times a desire to succeed
Equals me…
To you, I am an exception to the mathematical rule
While a “Little B,” he is a product of his environment
Yet we’ve been through the same struggle
And somewhere along the way I learned
That success is not measured by how far away you’ve run
But in the route you’ve taken to get where you need to be
So who are you to tell me where I should go
When your origination is worse than my environment?
Take your capitalist accumulation
Add ignorance and racist pride
Subtract love and human dignity
Times desire to exploit
And find yourself
A product of your environment
Now why don’t you decide
Who doesn’t measure up?
© 2003 Africa Resource Center, Inc.