Juneteenth is Not Freedom

Wondering
if I
am really free

To
be Black
and proud me

I’m
still denied
my total freedom

To
be Black
in white america

Juneteenth
can’t free
the wrongfully incarcerated

Juneteenth
can’t free
the enslaved mind

Does
america hear
caged birds sing?

Stacey Joy is a National Board Certified Teacher who has taught for 38 years in Los Angeles. Stacey is a self-published poet and has poems published in various anthologies: Out of Anonymity, Savant Poetry Anthologies, Teacher Poets Writing to Bridge the Distance, and Rhythm and Rhyme: Poems for Student Athletes.