If Undocumented Was A Color

If undocumented was a color it would go beyond my skin tone

What people see are shades of brown but not what lies beneath my skin

The layers of chipped away pain from hurtful words and trauma

“Sticks and stones will break my bones but words will never hurt me” is a colorless lie

Whoever wrote this has obviously been on the other end of racism

Sticks and stones will break my bones but words will never hurt me unless I’m

Black

Indigenous

Person

Of

Color

Sticks and stones will break my bones but words will never hurt me unless I’m

Undocumented

Immigrant

Refugee

Words have a way of holding power

Symbols with particular colors have a way of possessing power

Historically provoking wars, creating hate, and encouraging discrimination

Birthing labels, beliefs, and stereotypes of people of a certain color(s)

Dangerous powerful colorful words

Words, symbols, and color can also hold virtuous power

The power to uplift and empower people of color

Power to create social movements

Black Lives Matter

Women’s Liberation Movement

LGBTQ+ Rights Movement

Murdered & Missing Indigenous Women Movement

Transformational Undocumented Movement

If undocumented immigrant was a color it would go beyond my skin tone and where I come from

Beneath my brown skin lies internal bleeding from the racial trauma

Bruises from the daily microaggressions

Damaged nerves from hateful words

Built up anxiety from witnessing family separations of my brown people, killings of my black brothers and sisters, and missing womxn of my indigenous sisters

If undocumented was a color it would go beyond my skin tone and you could see the offerings it brings from where I come from

Beneath my skin are layers

Layers of resilience

Layers of strength

Layers of empowerment

And layers of hope

Strength would be the color red to represent the intensity of the blood inside me flowing with passion, love, and how strong I am despite what’s happened to me, despite what people have done to me, and how they’ve caused damage to my skin

Resiliency would be the color green to represent the durability and toughness of my emotions despite the constant spewing of hatred towards me, and how they’ve caused damage to my skin

Empowerment would be the color orange to represent inspiration and success despite the constant barriers getting in my way of my goals and achievements, and how they’ve caused damage to my skin

Hope would be the color blue giving me peace, trusting the process, giving me optimism despite all of it-the hate, the trauma, the pain, the anxiety, and how they’ve caused damage to my skin

These colors are potent

Keeping me alive

Keeping me vibrant

These colors are influential

Giving others with my outside color motivation

Giving others with my outside color dreams

If undocumented was a color it would go beyond my skin tone

Beneath my damaged skin are

Red

Green

Orange

Blue

Ready to burst outside of my skin to show the world I am beyond one color

Giving the biased eye a new view of who I really am

My true colors are not looking for approval but the respect, dignity, and opportunity they deserve

Beneath my damaged skin are

All the colors people can’t see on the outside

And the layers of my thickened skin healing with time

If undocumented was a color I’d be all of them

Each coming out on its own time at different stages of my growth

Each holding me together as I deal with the world

Each color giving me life beneath my skin

And only those who care to see my true colors will see the auras that gleam beyond my skin tone

Passing on vibrant light, positive energy, and ecstatic vibes to those who come near me

A gift to those with gentle hearts and kind eyes

If undocumented was a color you would see beyond my skin tone and what truly lies beneath my skin