Monday's Poetry: "Dead Is the New Black"

by Pa Rock
Poetry Appreciator

Anyone who is awake and sober in twenty-first century America knows that our country is awash in gun violence.  This past week there have been seventy-some shootings in Chicago with at least eleven dead.  School shootings have reached a point where the nation is numbed to their occurrence, and police shootings of unarmed black men and teens are sadly becoming commonplace.   There is also a rising phenomenon of vigilante and stand-your-ground shootings in which the shooters claim justification for their actions as law enforcement abettors or fear of becoming victims.  Often the actual victims in these killings are black and the perpetrators white - and the shooters escape justice under the loose color of law.

Florida passed the first stand-your-ground law in 2006, and the state soon amended the legislation to require that prosecutors prove that the shooters were not acting in self-defense - instead of placing the burden of proof on the shooter.  Now twenty-seven states have laws similar to the one in Florida, and most other states have modified versions of the law with similar impacts.  In an age when more and more people are legally armed, it has now become much easier for those people to use their guns and then spit out some garbled excuse about have been in fear for their lives.  And what's the point in carrying a gun if you can't use it when the spirit moves you?

There was an incident in Clearwater, Florida, a few weeks ago which began when a black woman supposedly parked her car in a handicapped spot at a convenience store.  A white man shopping in the store became angry about her taking a handicapped spot and went outside and began yelling at her. A black man who was with the woman responded by pushing the angry white man to the ground.  The man on the ground pulled a gun and shot the black man in the chest - killing him.  The local sheriff declined to press charges, citing the state's stand-your-ground law.

This week there are protests over the incident occurring in Clearwater Beach.  Reverend Al Sharpton is on the scene demanding justice for the black victim, and several other prominent black individuals are with him -  including the parents of Trayvon Martin, a black youth who was shot and killed by white vigilante George Zimmerman.  They are letting America know that racism is still a deadly disease in the United States of America.

Today's poetry selection, "Dead Is the New Black" is by J. Drew Lanham, an alumni distinguished professor of wildlife ecology at Clemson University.   Dr. Lanham is the author of a forthcoming book, "The Homeplace - Memoirs of a Colored Man's Love Affair with Nature."  This poem is his heartfelt response to a series of police shootings of black men that occurred a few years ago.

There is a powerful dose of truth and power in Dr. Lanham's quiet rage.


Dead is the New Black
by J. Drew Lanham

Sitting here 
Three days removed from what some call Independence day
The Fourth of July
Bound by anger
Chained and confused by fear
'murica they told me
was becoming a better place
Equality, pursuit of happiness
Life liberty
Sh*t like that
Barack's in the oval office
Shouldn't that suffice?
But today after another two of us were shot down
like rabid dogs in the street
I'm hearing anything
but some cracked bell's toll
Feeling doubtful of the word "free"
I'm an endangered species without cause for protection or concern
My life doesn't matter
to those behind the badges
The ones who lifted their hands
Swore to some lie called an oath
to serve and protect
--as my Daddy used to say Funny -- but not laughable.
Seems the laws and rules put in place
Ain't nothing but a license to roam
Intimidate
Harass and abuse.

Black and bruised 
seems the acceptable daily news

Yep. There'll be an investigation though
to determine what took place
Meanwhile,
2 more black men
died at the man's hands
And the horror streams
like a commercialized nightmare on CNN.

Today I'm feeling anything, but free
Nothing like a human deserving liberty
Maybe I should just stay at home
Don't drive my car or expect fair shake
Sh*t--maybe I'll just give up now
"Make America great again!"
Isn't that what the people who wanna be in charge say?

Fuck---now I gotta have that talk with my son once again--
"Bow down Colby -- don't look Massuh Officer in the eye
I love you and want you to come home son-- just be a good negro
I don't want you to die."

By the stat count 
dark skinned men
are on the way down
Thank your local yocal for the service
Besides us being Goddamned niggers--
it seems any murder is justifiable
long as there's a tail light out

So, I'll tell my son the news-- 
wait with dread whenever he's out
until he's locked down somewhere
safe--
and alive
I'll worry and suffer in doubt

Beyond being the next sad sorry 
the next day's repeated headline
My head's in a sad place
Not on birds or wildness
Or wandering
It's come down to a matter
of simplest human survival
I'm wondering
what's keeping ME
or my kin
from being the next sad story
The next among hundreds
Lying there lifeless
Breathless and bloody
because of my brown skin

Somehow, someway we all
deserve better
I want to believe it will someday come
But for now
Today
It's just a dream turned nightmare

But until further notice --- 

Dead is the new black, y'all
Race is a lethal condition
Being a man of color
That's the national sin.