Miller’s inspiration: I wrote “Mammy”  because I’ve had moments where people tried to put labels on me that felt heavy and unfair. Seeing that name printed under my photo made me stop and really think about how those old stereotypes still hurt today. Writing this poem was my way of taking back my voice. I entered because I wanted people to hear that side of the story, not just the stereotype, but the real person behind it.

“Mammy”

“Who is Mammy?” my friend asks,

I ask myself that as well when I see the name printed on my photo,

They see me and paint me with colors not my own,

A canvas of shadows, a story they’ve shown

A roll I didn’t choose, a badge of their shame.

Big lip, they mock, as though they’re a sin,

Twisting my features to fit within.

They call me “mammy” a hackneyed name.

Mocking me as if I’m to blame.

Mocking me as if I’m to blame,

I walk in school, where hearts don’t collide

Where judgment lurks whispers aside.

As If their judgment doesn’t make me cry.

Mammy, a word that stings,

A role forced upon the black woman,

A stereotype that dehumanizes,

Brutalizes the mind. But then I realize,

I am not Mammy, I am not their shame, I’m a soul with a dream, a heart with a name,

I am no ones shame.

But I choose kindness, a quiet embrace,

To soften the sharp edges of a closed space.

Not for their sake, but for my own,

To build a world where love is shown.

“Mammy is someone who is a kind, strong, and

independent woman” I answered my friend.

Cara plays for her school’s varsity softball team, sings in the choir, and has been playing the electric guitar for two years. In her free time, she enjoys drawing and writing. Cara hopes to become a Newborn Intensive Care Unit nurse or a pediatric doctor. She also plans to advance her writing and make a difference in the world.

FreshWater is sharing six of the winning poems and essays written by local students for The Maltz Museum’s 2025 Stop the Hate Youth Speak Out and Youth Sing Out essay and poetry contest. Students created essays, poems, and songs reflecting on a quote from artist Marc Chagall.