“A Black Man On An Elevator.” - (From The Hard Collection).

**BLACK MEN's POEMS** “A Black Man On An Elevator.” A Black Panther (P.B.C.O.C.N.) Poem By NEETTA BLACK Three white women on an elevator, Looked back with surprise. When all the Blacks they knew got off, But I still had to ride. One whispered to the other ones, “Do you think that he’s a crook? The others whispered “maybe”, All were trying not to look. The three white women got much bolder, As we went up even more. They plotted on ways to kill me, As we passed the upper floors. One said to them that in her pocket, She had a small nail file. She told them it could kill me, But it may take a little while. One said she could distract me, While one grabbed me from behind. I couldn’t believe that these white women, Had a “lynching” on their mind. One whispered “you know Blacks, They have that slavery in their blood”. “If we don’t make it look right, Civil rights calls start to flood”. They decided to call security, I knew what they were hoping. But they realized that I worked there, As the elevator opened. I told the three white women, As we were walking through the doors. “If the effects of slavery, is still in my blood, The effects of hate, is still in yours. A Black Panther (P.B.C.O.C.N.) Poem By NEETTA BLACK 3-13-1986