What do I shout to my people
From 7,000 miles away?
How can words quench Baltimore
Burning in the name of Freddie Gray?
Our country right now ignites enflamed
For Black bodies shot down
Black bodies still blamed
I picked up my pen
Engulfed in moral outrage
From from across the Atlantic
So let my ink burn down this page
What do I shout to my people
From 7,000 miles away?
Believing change arrived
When Obama came to play
Now embers of resentment linger
For those who marched anticipating
Left broken-hearted and abandoned,
Waiting
And waiting
What do I shout to my people
From 7,000 miles away?
Seeking refuge in Black churches
In Jesus’ name they pray
Promised by preachers in pulpits
Goodness will prevail
Then exit church doors straight
In to the heart of living hell
Emptying purses and pockets
Praying for the Lord’s grace
Or some life without suffering
But find no single trace
Tuning in to television
Only to hear mentioned another name
Another lost daughter or son
Another victim lay slain
What do I shout to my people
From 7,000 miles away?
Instructed violence is not the answer
Yet are brutalized each day
Incarcerated for their existence
Murdered without resistance
Deprived basic means of subsistence
Promise hope was on the horizon
As inequality keeps on rising
And just a few of us are thriving
While most struggle just surviving
What do I shout to my people
From 7,000 miles away?
Confined in White minds
To narrow stereotypes media portrays
When they value broken windows
More than broken necks of our sons
Believing Black rage must be met
With tanks, national guard, & guns
Curfews imposed, states of emergency
declared
Insufficient resources as we suffer
But when we revolt they’re prepared
What do I shout to my people
From 7,000 miles away?
Peacefully protesting in the streets
Refusing justice be delayed
With Ferguson on our lips
And Michael Brown on our minds
Questioning in the silence of our hearts
How long our blood be spilled for their crimes
What do I shout to my people
From 7,000 miles away?
Give them hell…
Stand your ground…
For Truth does not sway.
