What Else Do You Want?

You tell us to do this or that.

Yet Trayvon is dead.

You tell us to turn down our radios while pumping gas.

Yet Jordan is dead.

You tell us to get help when we get lost or in an accident.

Yet Renisha and Jonathan are dead.

You tell us to keep our hands up.

Yet Michael is dead.

You tell us to know our rights as citizens and question discrepancies.

Yet Philando is dead.

You tell us to use our turn signals to change lanes.

Yet Sandra is dead.

You tell us not to resist.

Yet Eric is dead.

You tell us to get jobs to provide for our families and quit leaching off the government.

Yet Alton is dead.

You tell us to record interactions with law enforcement.

Yet Walter is dead.

You tell us kneeling peacefully isn’t the right way to protest.

Yet the conversation is finally beginning…and you’re scared to further engage the discussion.

You tell us to keep God’s Word and politics separately.

Yet nine of my black brothers and sisters were executed in during Bible study with nary a peep from white evangelical Christians many of whom cite religious freedom or some other prejudice to defend their inaction instead of calling it what it is:  a hate crime.

You wonder why I am so jaded about Amerikkka in its current iteration – and the incoming Trump Administration.

Yet all I hear are crickets with each appointment:  Bannon, Sessions, Mad Dog, and the like.

You tell us to dress better and pull our pants up.

Yet Martin and Malcolm are dead.

You tell us that we can claim whistleblower status when we report wrongdoing by our superiors.

Yet Chris is dead.

You tell us to be nonviolent and change is coming.

Yet America was built by violence and that “change” is incremental at best.

I don’t want to hear squat you have to say, you hypocrites.

You say have faith in the judicial system.

Yet Michael, George, Darren, Tim, and countless others have gotten away with murder.

You tell us to go to school and study hard.

Yet the chosen jobs are scarce and we have to use our MSEs, PhD.s, etc. to compete with high school dropouts.

You tell us to invest in our own communities.

Yet petty jealousy led to the Tulsa Race Riots, Elaine, and Rosewood.

You tell us this is a post-racial day.

Yet I see the alt-right popping up like popcorn kernels damning any semblance of progress.

You tell us we can swim in your city-owned pools.

Yet you host piss parties and call the police when we show up after paid agreements were made. 

You tell us to mind our P’s and Q’s in our daily conduct like submissive boys and girls.

Yet the very rhetoric blurted from your tongues and fingertips has caused wars.

You have even told us to go back to Africa.

Yet this country wouldn’t be anything without the blood, sweat, tears, and ultimate sacrifices of my ancestors building the USA largely for free.

You preach law and order.

Yet you execute those commandments judiciously toward the poor and minority neighborhoods and find yourselves selling freedom to the highest (and whitest) bidder. 

You say you’re not racist.

Yet you still categorize people palatable by “some of my best friends are black” or label us as “race-baiters” when we present concrete facts of systemic discrimination that must be rectified as it does not fit the idyllic state of this place.

What else do you want?

I’ll wait – but not for much longer.