The Fight That Never Ends
A Collaborative Effort with walkerjo lee
Don’t talk to me about
peaceful protests, knowing my
place, and minding my manners
not when a cop pressed his knee
onto a black man’s neck
squeezing the life from him.
The pleas went unanswered.
The calls for help hung
in the dingy ass air as his
brothers-in-hate looked on.
Silence hovered after the
sound of breathing was extinguished.
This America, I’ve always known
while you claim there were better days.
Better days for whom?
Have you been denied entry into
public spaces because you
don’t look the part?
Ever have the fear of
merely being Black shoot up
your spine when you see
a White cop?
How is privilege working for
you since that’s all you have
and that’s what you need when
Black people are being reduced to
dust in the cracks of
swollen crowds flooding
the streets?
Don’t talk to me about being civil
and following the paths of my
ancestors when my ancestors died
trying to please you.
You have no idea what it
is like for me.
I am on fire and I don’t
give one damn about what it
looks like to you.
Aren’t we still sheltering in place?
Put a mask on when you put a knee in my back, Sir!
You risk my life with rules you break
No Justice! No Peace!
I thought Covid-19 would be rest and reprieve.
Ask the people how much can the people take?
Watch the people break
It’s hunting season, Children!
Sit at the feet of supremacy, ignore the fragility
Lessons of post up, prop, pose, and lean . . .
(#GeorgeFloyd)
On the real, Post Blk racism looks like . . .
what if white people are the gangsta rappers
and black people are the platinum chains?
This is America!
Racism apparently cannot stay home
during a mandatory quarantine.
How many names shall we say?
Why does 2015 feel like today?
Maybe, we should try this physical distancing in outer space
Where the commander’s bullets can’t fly
Tweets to incite and enrage are delayed
Hey, White People! Reboot the country while we’re away.
A Day of Absence —
We need to collectively migrate
Blackness is a pre-existing condition for . . . well, everything!
Have Mercy or at least have reason or heart,
Counterfeit currency should lead to the Feds
and not last breaths, face down while
wearing handcuffs, crying out for a grown man’s Mom.
A shame, a shitshow, and a curse
Blackness needs Black Gods.
Lessons on lessons on lessons:
(a picture with the victor rewrites the narrative and instills a belief)
-Execute with a hand in your pocket to show your control, calm and relief
-Execute in plainclothes, go in the wrong house with your warrant, no announcement, and shoot while she sleeps,
-Execute while running them down in your truck with a camera and a gun like it’s not premeditated, prepared to proclaim him the threat that you’re turning out to be —
This IS America.
The executioner gets to go home for months, instead of jail
(#AhmaudArbery)
They’ll call the dead a criminal and a beast.
My Country Tis’ of thee,
Oh! How sweet is the republic toward its White’s liberty!
Authoritative block parties pop off with red and blue lights,
13 stripes, police sirens play on repeat;
SWAT on the grounds, the National Guard patrols the streets —
When a country gives more fucks about
an auto parts and a Target store, home isn’t
home and America doesn’t dream.
This is America and WE stay sleep!
We live in a dystopia stuck in a Groundhog Day
that apparently wants to keep reliving 1917 —
We, the People, need to keep sharp eyes on the Elite!
This is America and we should relocate.
Abandon your comfort, escape your fake
Pass Over, New Negro! Float on in your purple cloaks.
Transmute into stars; Hold your head and take heart.
What happens on Earth, stays on Earth —
(#BreonnaTaylor)
They’re not coming and gunning for your youth,
they never have. They never will.
“We are T I R E D!”
How much did you think a people would
take with years of pain dangling from
the tips of their fingers and shoulders
broken from the phantom whips hitting
their backs?
You started a fire and now you’re
wondering how to put it out.
It’s simple — “let freedom ring” like it’s
supposed to and then,
shut the hell up.
The mighty Tamika Mallory:
©2020 Tremaine L. Loadholt and walkerjo lee
*Walker and I have been collaborating together on equality, the lives of Black people and People of Color, social injustice, and growing up in the South or as descendants of those from the South for years. She is my sister-in-rage when the work is necessary & we must fight through each day while being Black and still alive. There are far too many pieces here on Medium for me to reference, but here are a few of our collaborative efforts. Thank you for reading.
