Welcome to Poetry Friday, this week hosted by Karen Edmisten here: https://karenedmisten.blogspot.com. Thank you very much, Karen for hosting.
What is Poetry Friday? Find out here:
After I read REVOLUTION IN OUR TIME: THE BLACK PANTHER PARTY’S PROMOSE TO THE PEOPLE, I knew I had to recommend it to my Poetry Friday friends and anyone else interested in American History. That is simply because when I was a teen in the glorious nineteen sixties, lies were spread about the Black Panther Party and so much else.
I remember overhearing adults and from reading the newspapers, that the Black Panthers were “terrorists.” But they were not terrorists. This organization was formed to help black people deal with police violence that targeted them, to help black people cope with poverty, substandard education, access to voting and in short, a country that governed by racist laws and policies.
Armed black panthers would show up at traffic stops and stand a legal distance away, to observe arrests of black people. It was done to deter police violence done usually when no one was looking. In California, open carry of a firearm was legal, and so black citizens bought guns and defended themselves too. This made white people nervous. The FBI made it their job to spread propaganda to stir the public against the Black Panthers like they did concerning Martin Luther King. The bad press against the Black Panthers served to terrify the white public.
As I look back on my teen years, I believe I would have greatly benefitted from honest adults telling me the truth. The Black Panther Party only lasted over teen years, and Magoon explains the rise and reasons for its fall, but even so, to me, those who spoke up about police violence, created schools where children were taught to read, and made sure hungry kids had breakfast were heroes.
Here is a Black Lives Matters site featuring kids’ poems:
https://charmlitmag.org/poems-for-black-lives-matter-at-school.
I found this ninth grader’s poem. It’s just the first few lines and the rest is at the above website. Thank you Ayodele Ayoola!
I AIN’T WELCOMED HERE NO MORE Ayodele Ayoola, Grade 9 I WALK DOWN THE STREET AND GUESS WHO I MEET THE MEN IN BLUE WHO SUPPOSED TO DEFEND BUT INSTEAD THEY CHOSE TO APPREHEND THEY SLAP, PUNCH, CHOKE ME RED THEY WON’T STOP TILL I END UP DEAD OH STOP! PLEASE? I CAN’T BREATHE!
Racism, of course, continues, but I found Kekla Magoon’s book inspiring. I learned about so many heroes from the sixties who I knew so little about, some who dedicated their lives and died serving their communities. There is nothing like a good book, and this is a great one.
Thank you, Karen, for hosting Poetry Friday this week. Find her blog:
https://karenedmisten.blogspot.com.