Protect Black Futures

Our team of young people, interns, and staff members have chosen not to be silent but to share our voice and stand in solidarity with those relentlessly fighting to protect Black futures. In these poems, we share our pain, sadness, rage, hopes, joy, and lives as Black folks constantly at war with a world that doesn’t always value us. Let’s dream. Let’s build. Let’s fight for our future.

Please checkout these organizations that are working to transform St. Louis on a systemic level. Make sure you support:
➡️ Action St. Louis: https://bit.ly/2U4ELjl
➡️ ArchCity Defenders, Inc.: https://bit.ly/2ZYrblz
➡️ Close The Workhouse: https://bit.ly/2z2gByU
➡️ Forward Through Ferguson: https://bit.ly/3039PnG
➡️ WEPOWER: wepowerstl.org/donate/

Mi'Angila Graham

I am scared
Every day I see black boys being killed in the streets
Black Men being brutalized by the police
My womb hurts

I fear the day when my baby boy is born
Born already shackled at his feet
Already labeled a problem by those he meets
I cry out to him

He tells me,
Momma, I need you, I can’t breathe
Momma, my hands were up but they still chose me
Momma, I went to bed early only to bleed
Momma, I worked out, only to jog one last time
Momma, I prayed for better days only to be kneeled on by his knees

I cry to him,
Son, you are stronger than the pain
Son, you are greater than the shame
Son, you are smarter than the bigotry
Son, you are revolutionary

Yet still
As I think of the day my baby boy is born
My womb hurts

Ronnell George Jackson Jr.

When I say we
I mean our black culture,
we built this country
Brick by brick
There’s no other
For those to fear
But a black man as he stands
With no tears

We have been repeatedly denied equality.
The freedom to breathe
We matter
I tell you we matter
And we will make change now

George Floyd we shall rise
With no surprise
Brother by brother
With fist raised high
Your voices will be heard
And fly over the world as a bird
Covering the peace
For our loved ones
In the sky

Michael Woods

My first pain...
As a child
was when society collectively pretended my last name
Was my last name.

They steal crowns from babies

My next pain...
As a young man
was when society collectively made me feel guilty. Told me to prove that I was not dangerous while being oppressed.

I was trained to use my smile as an apology for my skin and stature.

My worst pain...
As a grown man
was when society collectively agreed not to validate my hurt, not to heal my pain, nor provide justice for my murder.

After Slavery, Jim Crow, Prison Pipeline
Your suggested remedy was for me to work harder.

Joecia Dotson-Brooks

Tired Of Living In A World Of Crime, Violence, And Silence
People Are Dying
Moms Are Crying
And Cops Are Implying That We aren’t Thriving
Not Justifying The Deaths
In Silent Facing Trials & Tribulations
Trying To Have Some Dedication And Education To Face The Worlds Intimidation
Tired Of Seeing Black Faces On The The Pavement
Tired Of Seeing Cops Killing Babies
Tired Of Seeing The World Go Crazy Trying to Blame Us For The Manipulation
The World Sees Us As Gangsters Not Peace Makers And Caretakers
Giving Back To The Community Long Live Marvin Thomas
May Your Life Live On Through Us
DREAM Builders 4 Life ...

Jabari Aitch

Black Lives Matter, Doesn’t It?
So you say, “Black Lives Matter”
Does it?
A whole continent was bamboozled and decimated
Kings and queens were taken from their thrones to being chained up, raped, and hanged
Black lives matter, doesn’t it?
Babies torn from their mother’s arms and sold like ears of corn
Fathers humiliated, devilishly mutilated and emasculated
But black lives matter, doesn't it?
From the time our African ancestors were abducted from the bosom of mother Africa
Through slavery in the Americas, the American civil war, reconstruction, Jim crow, the civil rights movement and Ferguson
Nothing but murder, racism, and false promises
Leaving mental and physical destruction being our reward
How could our Black race pull themselves up by their bootstraps?
We attempted to lay down the blueprint for our true reconstruction
Black Wall Street was a turning point
Until bullets started flying and bombs were dropped
Erupting and erasing black bodies and properties from the face of the earth
But black lives matter, doesn’t it?

Marcus Garvey wanted us to return to Mother Africa, the land of our birthright
In order to erect a real Wakanda yet, they destroyed him
Brother Malcolm attempted to lead us out of the wilderness into the light by any means necessary
So it became necessary for the oppressors to attempt to steal his light
King wanted to live in peace walking hand in hand while putting hate on a leash
But they shot him in cold blood on a balcony knocking him off his feet

But black lives matter, doesn't it?
Brothers and sisters, I can’t breathe, is it COVID-19 or a wicked cop's knee...
Don’t respond to the scene with guns drawn looking through iron sight
Adrenaline pumping and sweaty hands
Hands up don’t shot, I'm not trying to flee so why in hell are you lying on me...
What did we do to deserve ill-treatment and death like this from you?
Alert, Word to the wise!!!!
Brothers and sisters ninety damn days in the belly of a slave-ship did our African ancestors endure to give us life
So why are we hating and killing one another rather than loving and aiding one another
LET THERE BE PEACE IN THE STREETS!
ALL POWER TO THE PEOPLE!

Allen Worth

Love, power, light, and rage is what's balled up inside me
Some days I can’t even sleep
You will never know how it feels to be me

I walk down my block and it’s a problem
I hear the police sirens, they just called ‘em
I’m an unarmed black man in America and I still get shot
It’s almost like it was planned, a plot

My love for black power is rooted deep
We gotta stand up for what’s right
How about we come together and inspire
We demand a change

Love, power, light, and rage is what's balled up inside me
Some days I can’t even sleep
Now you know a little of how it feels to be me

Gerald Burton

Dying 2 Live
“I CANT BREATHE”
Seems like the cry of our people
We dying for some freedom and fighting just to be equal
Deprived of opportunity almost like we see through
Crazy how you labeled as a violent “thug” and “goon” but they still wanna be you
They hate your skin but they emulate your walk
“You act too ghetto” but they still copy how you talk
No more Picasso’s, just outlines of chalk
Do they fear you cause you’re one of god’s most precious creations
Hated by the masses even though we built the nation
Guess we all witnessing the 2020 Birth Of A Nation
What’s worse, death by our city’s finest or imprisonment excuse me I mean “systemic rehabilitation”

We’re pain driven
Fueled by the prejudices of the higher powers
Hard to appreciate the glow of our melanin when we are forced to live in the darkest of hours
Asked for 40 Acres and A Mule which was more than rightfully ours
Weather been seeming clouded by injustices with heavy chances of lead showers
Must we have to rage
Must we have to break
Must we have to riot
Must we have to take
What’s gonna cause change and who gonna make the contribution
Our people calling for reform and ready to spark the revolution
We march with our hands high protesting for peace
Got us in generational chokeholds with no intentions of release
Face down on the ground yet their fire doesn’t cease
It’s like our skin is the home and our lives are the lease