What's Going On...

Mother, mother

There’s far too many of you crying.

Wanda Johnson. Virginia Davis. Sabrina Fulton. Lucia McBath. Cynthia Griffin. Lesley McSpadden.

Your mothers. My mothers. Our mothers.

We pray with you. For you. To lose a child. To lose a son. The unfathomable frustration. Sorrow. Confusion. Hurt.

Brother, brother, brother

There’s far too many of you dying.

                Oscar Grant, III. Troy Davis.   

                Trayvon Martin. Jordan Davis. 

                 Justin Griffin. Michael Brown, Jr.

                Your brothers. My brothers. Our 

                 brothers.

                We stand for you.

Father, father

We don’t need to escalate.

                Oscar Grant, Jr. Joseph Davis.           

                Tracy Martin. Ron Davis. James 

                 Griffin. Michael Brown, Sr.

                Our Father. Your fathers. My 

                fathers. Our fathers.

                We fight with you. For you. To 

                 lose a child. To lose a son. The 

                 unfathomable frustration.

                Sorrow. Confusion. Hurt.

You know we’ve got to find a way

To bring some understanding here today.

   Oakland, California. Savannah, 

    Georgia. Sanford, Florida. 

    Jacksonville, Florida. Jackson,     

    Mississippi. Ferguson, Missouri.

   Your city and state. My city and 

   state. Our cities and states. Our 

    country. Our world.

               We need you.

I need you. To help me understand what’s going on! These men…our men are members of our families, our communities, our country.  They are “created equal” to other men and should be able to enjoy their “inalienable rights,” right?

Picket lines and picket signs

Don’t punish me with brutality

                “To protect and serve 

                 whom?...#JusticeforOscarGrant.” 

                 “Innocence Matters…Save Troy

                  Davis.” “Stop Criminalizing 

                  Black Men…Stand Up for 

                   Trayvon.” “We ALL Count… 

                   We Will NOT be Erased 

                   #JusticeforJordan.”

                   “#every28hours 

                    #justice4Justin.” “Hands Up…

                    Don’t Shoot.”

     Your words. My words. Our 

     words.

      We need them. To complement 

      our actions. To restore the peace      

       and ease the unrest. Empty 

       words are better left unspoken, 

       so be mindful of your choices 

       when you post, speak, read, 

       and/or converse.

You know we’ve got to find a way

To bring some lovin’ here today

               Whether he’s walking down the       

               street with his pants slightly below               

                his waist as he turns his

              fitted cap to the side while his    

                Beats headphones are blaring the 

                latest J Cole verse           
               he raps along to ease his mind

              or

 He’s walking to a meeting with his tailored slacks safely secured above his waist by suspenders as he checks his iPhone to make sure he’s on time while he listens to Bach as he hums along to ease his mind…

 We’ve got to find a ways to understand that to be black in America and to be a black man in America “is to be in rage almost all the time.”

 Sadly, what’s going on…is nothing new. Especially for the black man.

 I’ve spent days attempting to understand my feelings about Mike Brown’s death. Just like the deaths of the other men described in this piece and the countless others who have received media coverage and those that have not, I am unable to fully articulate the depths of my feelings.

What’s going on and what has been going on is much deeper than

                                                Oscar                                     Oakland

                                                Troy                                       Savannah

                                                Trayvon                                 Sanford

                                                Jordan                                  Jacksonville

                                                Justin                                    Jackson

                                               Michael                                Ferguson

We gotta do something. Look at us….we perishing y’all. “Where there is no vision, the people perish…” right? What’s going on…

               

Marvin Gaye. What’s Going On. Tamla, 1971.

Excerpted quote ("...is to be in rage almost all the time.") from James Baldwin taken from "The Negro's Role in American Culture" by James Baldwin, Lorraine Hansberry, Langston Hughes, Alfred Kazin, and Nat Hentoff. 1962.

Excerpted quote (“Where there is no vision, the people perish…”) from Proverbs 29:18 (KJV)