Father Stretch My Hands

Maybe if we put our hands high enough in the air, fast enough, but not too fast to be seen as a threat. Then maybe just maybe we can make it out alive? One of the many questions I ask myself when the slaughtering of African Americans at the hands of the “bad police officers” are plastered over the news. These were the thoughts that bounced around my head as I blasted Kanye West’s “The Life Of Pablo album on the way to work. As I went through the album I noticed something I hadn’t before. It’s a protest album, From the start of “UltraLight Beam” to “Saint Pablo” the album is full of protest anthems. One song in particular stood out. Father stretch my hands part 1 , the lyrics “I just wanna be liberated “ are repeated and it hit home that’s all we want. We only want to be free, free of the oppression, free of our black skin being looked at as a weapon. Free from our lives being looked at as not worthy.The question is when ? Another line in the song states “Everybody gonna say something, I’d be worried if they said nothin”. To me this line spoke to the #Alllivesmatter supporters, they said nothing before #Blacklivesmatter became a thing. BLM was born out of a necessity to recognize the worth of black lives because, those responsible for killing them saw no value. Even the killing of Micah Johnson, the 25 yr old charged with killing 5 Dallas police officers and wounding several more was blown up, he was not apprehended and given a meal. Nor was he able to stand trial to determine if he was guilty for the crimes he was charged with. He was blown away because it was said there was no other way to end the standoff. I’ll let you come to your own conclusions there. We have to continue to not only protest but build our own businesses, and become the so big that we are impossible to ignore, impossible to be seen as another other than human.But I will continue to say #Blacklivesmatter until they actually do. “Hands Ups ..Hands Ups…. Then the cops shot us”.