We Would Like You to Know By Ana Castillo We would like you to know and as black as a descendant we are not all of an African slave. docile We never claimed to be nor revolutionaries a homogeneous race. but we are all survivors. We do not all carry We are not all victims, zip guns, hot pistols, all loyal to one cause, steal cars. all perfect; it is a We do know how psychological dilemma to defend ourselves. no one has resolved. We do not all have We would like to give slicked-back hair a thousand excuses distasteful apparel as to why we all find unpolished shoes ourselves in a predicament although the economy residents of a controversial power doesn’t allow everyone how we were all caught with our a Macy’s charge card. pants down We do not all pick and how petroleum was going lettuce, run to change all that but assembly lines, clean it all before and you’ve heard restaurant tables, even with a wink and a snicker if someone has to do it. left us babbling amongst ourselves. We do not all sneak We would like you to know under barbed wire or guilt or apologetic gestures wade the Rio Grande. the dead won’t revive redistribute the land These are the facts. or natural resources. We would like you to know We are left we are not all brown. with one final resolution Genetic history has made in our own predestined way, some of us blue eyed as any we are going forward. German immigrant There is no going back. Nos gustaría que sepan Translated from the English by Johanna Vega
We Would Like You to Know By Ana Castillo We would like you to know we are not all docile nor revolutionaries but we are all survivors. We do not all carry zip guns, hot pistols, steal cars. We do know how to defend ourselves. We do not all have slicked-back hair distasteful apparel unpolished shoes although the economy doesn’t allow everyone a Macy’s charge card. We do not all pick lettuce, run assembly lines, clean restaurant tables, even if someone has to do it. We do not all sneak under barbed wire or wade the Rio Grande. These are the facts. We would like you to know we are not all brown. Genetic history has made some of us blue eyed as any German immigrant and as black as a descendant of an African slave. We never claimed to be a homogeneous race. We are not all victims, all loyal to one cause, all perfect; it is a psychological dilemma no one has resolved. We would like to give a thousand excuses as to why we all find ourselves in a predicament residents of a controversial power how we were all caught with our pants down and how petroleum was going to change all that but you’ve heard it all before and with a wink and a snicker left us babbling amongst ourselves. We would like you to know guilt or apologetic gestures won’t revive the dead redistribute the land or natural resources. We are left with one final resolution in our own predestined way, we are going forward. There is no going back. Nos gustaría que sepan Translated from the English by Johanna Vega