When you're ready for change you have to get your mind right. The first step in making your mind ready for your next step is recognizing what kind of shape it's in. Strip down to nothing. Look at it in the mirror without sucking in. That's what most of us are simply scared or too stubborn to do. Many times we fail because we don't evaluate before pressing ahead. It doesn't matter if it's romance, a class, or a new job. We have to evaluate and make the decision that we'll do better or just stay the same.
-------------------------- Untitled (like most of my stuff) -----------------
To proud to admit mistakes.
Fake it 'til you make it is what they say.
But the heart can't fake whole after a break.
What do I dream of?
Who do I want?
Mistakes happen but it's up to us not to wait on fate.
It is what we make.
We'll be looking forward to the same thing if our actions don't change.
But how do I change my actions?
I have God's best guide to thrive but I'm still half-baked.
Whatever's missing is on the inside.
I'm what's missing from my life.
We can point fingers, but why lie?
It's up to me to grab success and to thrive.
I only have to focus, pray, and decide.
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Pittbulls Vs Young Black Boys: Rally Virgin for Trayvon Martin
As the rep. from the National Action Network (NAN) re-capped the story of a young man who was hunted down like game, straddled, then shot in the chest, tears streamed down my face. This was my first rally.
"What do we want!"
"Justice!"
"When do we want it!"
"Now!"
The call and response chants gave me goose bumps. The energy of the crowd slowly crept up my spine. I was quiet in the beginning. I would have shouted along but my throat was clinched by heavy emotion. By the time the pastor finished with the opening praise I was ready.
"What do we want!"
"Justice!"
"When do we want it!"
"Yesterday!" I shouted.
Now isn't good enough. We need the psychotic man to be thrown in jail before he hurts someone else. One of the speakers commented that Mike Vick went to jail for conspiring to kill animals. He was locked up fairly quickly as I recall. This is the epitome of insult added to injustice. How much is a young black boy's life worth? Not even a pack of skittles? Not even as much as a dog? How is it that our correctional system can be in need of so much correcting? And when will the system start helping our society?
"No Justice!"
"No peace!"
My mom had always warned us about getting involved in rallies and protests. A victim of the injustices of the 60s, she was traumatized. She was in the first black graduating class from her Jewish High school. I'm sure she suffered her fair share of injustices and witnessed many people being beaten and imprisoned- like animals. I'm 24 and full of energy. "An injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere" Dr. Martin Luther King's philosophy lives in me so it was hard not to be involved in the chants a long time ago. It's amazing what fear can do to a person. But when I walked up to Providence Missionary Baptist Church tonight I let go of the fear that kept we away from rallies in the past.
"Ya uhuru!"
"Ya wu ru...hu?"
"Y'all don't know what that means? It means freedom now in Swahili. Ya UhuRU!"
"Ya Uhuru!!"
The church parking lot was blocked off except for the News and a few individuals allowed to snag a good parking spot. I drove down the small street off of Benjamin E. Mays and hoped the owner of the house wouldn't fuss at me for parking very close to (if not on top of) their lawn. My purse would have been inconvenient so I tossed it in the trunk and trotted up the street. 6:56pm, the rally started at 7:00 and the front of the church already had a crowd. I wanted to be punctual for my first rally."Don't go outside after dark. Someone could grab you!" Strangely enough I didn't hear echos of my mother while I rushed up the street in my pink "Too Blessed 2 B Stressed/ God is Good" baby T-shirt and jeans carrying my 'Trayvon' hoodie.
"Aaaaaa-men" "Aaaaa-men" "Amen. Amen."
Church hymns had already started. Two guys in hoodies strolled in front of me so I darted around them. I stared at the crowd nervously. Would I be welcomed? Would people know it was my first time? Could I yell anything at anytime, or should I wait for the speaker to start a chant? I didn't know how to act but I knew I wanted to be as close to the front as possible. I made a sign, "Justice 4 Trayvon". I held it nervously in my hands. The small poster was damp with sweat from my nervous palms and then the re-cap of Trayvon's murder began.
"This, this, gorilla was on top of him! You could hear the blood curdling screams from Trayvon. You could hear him pleading for his life! Now what type of threat could he have seen in that? A 28 year old man! Against Trayvon 'Babyface' - I call him baby face- Martin."
I couldn't stop sobbing. Admittedly, I hadn't read the full news story. I saw updates in my Twitter Timeline and heard some things over the radio. I don't watch a lot of TV so I missed many interviews. I was hearing all of the details for the first time. I prayed for Trayvon and his family and continued to sob. Photographers flashed lenses near my face. They were surely all taking photos of my sniffling face. Other speakers from the rally spoke of other injustices in the black community. Other murders of innocent black boys and men in New York, Atlanta, and Texas were spoken about. Injustices to blacks everywhere was also mentioned.. "Our sons are endangered," I felt a severe disturbance in my spirit. I was shook realizing how the state of our nation has created the perfect climate and institution for murderers to be able to kill my sons, brothers, husbands, and fathers at will, without reason or consequence. I didn't know what to do with the energy I felt. I wanted to cry some more, shout, stop traffic on Piedmont and scream "Save Our Sons!!!"
"Arrest!"
"Arrest!"
"Zimmerman!"
"Zimmerman!"
"Now!"
"Now!"
By the second half of the rally my voice was straining to capture the power I felt from the energy of the crowd. I shouted with the crowd. Made snide comments with the people around me and saw familiar faces. By the end of the rally I felt charged to do something grand. Something that nobody would be able to ignore. Something that would bring justice in a boldly peaceful way. Realizing that I'm only one person, however, I decided to start by taking the action steps that NAN outlined for us:
1) Sign the petition at
http://www.change.org/petitions/prosecute-the-killer-of-our-son-17-year-old-trayvon-martin#
2) Call the contact numbers provided and demand justice for Trayvon
- 407-688-5070 Sanford Police Department, call to demand the arrest of George Zimmerman
- 407-665-6000 FL DA's office, call to demand JUSTICE and boot out the "Police Chief" in Sanford and
comb thru that station w a fine-toothed comb
- 202-514-2000 US Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, call to demand JUSTICE for our son
- National Action Network, call for info on how to get involved and make a difference and to stay
informed! There's a meeting on Saturday w a recap and updates
3) Come out to the meeting on Saturday w NAN and get involved! 678-732-0405
My next steps will be to challenge my friends to make calls and join me in sitting in public spaces with signs to spread awareness about Trayvon's murder. The first stop may be Piedmont Park. I hope to get friends together and spread the word. But if no one else will join me, I still have the spirit of the rally to keep me company. This energy is what motivates me to make small contributions and fight for justice for my son, brother, father, neighbor, and myself.
I am Trayvon Martin.
"What do we want!"
"Justice!"
"When do we want it!"
"Now!"
The call and response chants gave me goose bumps. The energy of the crowd slowly crept up my spine. I was quiet in the beginning. I would have shouted along but my throat was clinched by heavy emotion. By the time the pastor finished with the opening praise I was ready.
"What do we want!"
"Justice!"
"When do we want it!"
"Yesterday!" I shouted.
Now isn't good enough. We need the psychotic man to be thrown in jail before he hurts someone else. One of the speakers commented that Mike Vick went to jail for conspiring to kill animals. He was locked up fairly quickly as I recall. This is the epitome of insult added to injustice. How much is a young black boy's life worth? Not even a pack of skittles? Not even as much as a dog? How is it that our correctional system can be in need of so much correcting? And when will the system start helping our society?
"No Justice!"
"No peace!"
My mom had always warned us about getting involved in rallies and protests. A victim of the injustices of the 60s, she was traumatized. She was in the first black graduating class from her Jewish High school. I'm sure she suffered her fair share of injustices and witnessed many people being beaten and imprisoned- like animals. I'm 24 and full of energy. "An injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere" Dr. Martin Luther King's philosophy lives in me so it was hard not to be involved in the chants a long time ago. It's amazing what fear can do to a person. But when I walked up to Providence Missionary Baptist Church tonight I let go of the fear that kept we away from rallies in the past.
"Ya uhuru!"
"Ya wu ru...hu?"
"Y'all don't know what that means? It means freedom now in Swahili. Ya UhuRU!"
"Ya Uhuru!!"
The church parking lot was blocked off except for the News and a few individuals allowed to snag a good parking spot. I drove down the small street off of Benjamin E. Mays and hoped the owner of the house wouldn't fuss at me for parking very close to (if not on top of) their lawn. My purse would have been inconvenient so I tossed it in the trunk and trotted up the street. 6:56pm, the rally started at 7:00 and the front of the church already had a crowd. I wanted to be punctual for my first rally."Don't go outside after dark. Someone could grab you!" Strangely enough I didn't hear echos of my mother while I rushed up the street in my pink "Too Blessed 2 B Stressed/ God is Good" baby T-shirt and jeans carrying my 'Trayvon' hoodie.
"Aaaaaa-men" "Aaaaa-men" "Amen. Amen."
Church hymns had already started. Two guys in hoodies strolled in front of me so I darted around them. I stared at the crowd nervously. Would I be welcomed? Would people know it was my first time? Could I yell anything at anytime, or should I wait for the speaker to start a chant? I didn't know how to act but I knew I wanted to be as close to the front as possible. I made a sign, "Justice 4 Trayvon". I held it nervously in my hands. The small poster was damp with sweat from my nervous palms and then the re-cap of Trayvon's murder began.
"This, this, gorilla was on top of him! You could hear the blood curdling screams from Trayvon. You could hear him pleading for his life! Now what type of threat could he have seen in that? A 28 year old man! Against Trayvon 'Babyface' - I call him baby face- Martin."
I couldn't stop sobbing. Admittedly, I hadn't read the full news story. I saw updates in my Twitter Timeline and heard some things over the radio. I don't watch a lot of TV so I missed many interviews. I was hearing all of the details for the first time. I prayed for Trayvon and his family and continued to sob. Photographers flashed lenses near my face. They were surely all taking photos of my sniffling face. Other speakers from the rally spoke of other injustices in the black community. Other murders of innocent black boys and men in New York, Atlanta, and Texas were spoken about. Injustices to blacks everywhere was also mentioned.. "Our sons are endangered," I felt a severe disturbance in my spirit. I was shook realizing how the state of our nation has created the perfect climate and institution for murderers to be able to kill my sons, brothers, husbands, and fathers at will, without reason or consequence. I didn't know what to do with the energy I felt. I wanted to cry some more, shout, stop traffic on Piedmont and scream "Save Our Sons!!!"
"Arrest!"
"Arrest!"
"Zimmerman!"
"Zimmerman!"
"Now!"
"Now!"
By the second half of the rally my voice was straining to capture the power I felt from the energy of the crowd. I shouted with the crowd. Made snide comments with the people around me and saw familiar faces. By the end of the rally I felt charged to do something grand. Something that nobody would be able to ignore. Something that would bring justice in a boldly peaceful way. Realizing that I'm only one person, however, I decided to start by taking the action steps that NAN outlined for us:
1) Sign the petition at
http://www.change.org/petitions/prosecute-the-killer-of-our-son-17-year-old-trayvon-martin#
2) Call the contact numbers provided and demand justice for Trayvon
- 407-688-5070 Sanford Police Department, call to demand the arrest of George Zimmerman
- 407-665-6000 FL DA's office, call to demand JUSTICE and boot out the "Police Chief" in Sanford and
comb thru that station w a fine-toothed comb
- 202-514-2000 US Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, call to demand JUSTICE for our son
- National Action Network, call for info on how to get involved and make a difference and to stay
informed! There's a meeting on Saturday w a recap and updates
3) Come out to the meeting on Saturday w NAN and get involved! 678-732-0405
My next steps will be to challenge my friends to make calls and join me in sitting in public spaces with signs to spread awareness about Trayvon's murder. The first stop may be Piedmont Park. I hope to get friends together and spread the word. But if no one else will join me, I still have the spirit of the rally to keep me company. This energy is what motivates me to make small contributions and fight for justice for my son, brother, father, neighbor, and myself.
I am Trayvon Martin.
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