A mirror is associated with wisdom: "look in the mirror / you are the reflection of divinity / don't let them fool you with selective memory." (193) The mirror represents one's own way of understanding, one's own experience, and history. He warns that the education system often excludes people selectively. Asante takes a firm stance using powerful words to covney the passion that no people should be silenced: "minds are being- / polluted, / convoluted, / diluted, / not culturally rooted." (193) These words evoke a sense of isolation and disrespect from the educational system. Asante argues education should be culturally diverse: "tell me anything about a land he's never seen / a land of rich with history." (193) This evokes the passion of history not being taught diversely. Asante's poem utilizes a variety uses of figurative language to reinforce the concept that many students are not engaged because their experience in the U.S. is not acknowledged. This message of students of color is that they should speak up. .
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Figurative language sets the tone of the poem, and the structure. The arrangement of a work to the whole forms the main idea. This poem has a rhyme scheme of AA, BB, and CC: .
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They label me militant, and black national radical, .
Trying to put my learning process on sabbatical. .
I don't apologize,.
Instead I spit truth into the whites of eyes infected by white lies. (192).
The rhyme scheme can help establish engagement between the reader and the author. Asante ends each line with words that stand out to the reader to reflect upon them. For instance, choosing the words radical and sabbatical sends a powerful message that he is not unreasonable to demand that his history not be ignored. Within the rhyme scheme, there is a constant repetition of words in the poem. By using word "we" Asante is not only targeting black students but also people of color to reflect upon the controlled education system.
