America and Beyond
By Mari Rice
We knew freedom first
We have known slavery, colonialism, apartheid and Jim Crow
Then there was the stereotype
Then the lie and the lynching
Followed by the death
The dogs that drew blood from black spines and fractured skulls
And then there was my grandmother minister Anna Moore
born with healing hands
She would lay hands on the people and they were healed
She was healing while women like
Bessie Smith
Lauren Hill
And Erykah Badu
were singing black women’s blues
And then I asked America
What happened to the women?
America said
We have
degraded her
constrained her
infringed on her rights
with ancient laws, corporate policies
and biblical written rules
We have attempted to
silence her by bending her over in the evening and
raping her of dreams and real potential
We have drenched her in R Kelly’s urine and
poisoned her with Weinstein’s lips
In the land of freedom promise and opportunities
In America
Women were viewed as cattle too, women were lynched too
Women were put on auction blocks
their ancient beautiful buttocks symbolizing
sex for the men who would take them
We were on the killing fields
We feel the continuation of rape
through human trafficking of girls as young as 9 years old
child brides
abducted children being sold off for as little as $12.00
and girls become the world’s forgotten population
But, but, but! America said “You’ve come a long way”
While Trump was holding hands with
his white supremacist brothers and applauding racist rants
We were inspiring our children,
promoting education and health
Celebrating
The resolve of
Harriet Tubman
Ida B. Wells
The raised fists of
Angela Davis
Assata Shakur
The groundbreaking strides of
Michelle Obama
And so many more
Continuing our resistance through
Black Lives Matter
Black Girls Rock
And the Me Too movement
Freedom is wrapped in the spines and breasts of Black women
And so I asked America
Why did you take us out of the history books?
Attempt to remove us from the future?
We knew freedom first
We have known slavery, colonialism, apartheid and Jim Crow
Then there was the stereotype
Then the lie
America said
We were Mary Jane’s
The Real Housewives
Basketball Wives
Love and Hip Hop
Wrapped in media lies, cognitive bias and
Reality TV madness
We knew freedom first
We have known slavery, colonialism, apartheid and Jim Crow
Then there was the stereotype
Then the lie
In America and Beyond
By Mari Rice
We knew freedom first
We have known slavery, colonialism, apartheid and Jim Crow
Then there was the stereotype
Then the lie and the lynching
Followed by the death
The dogs that drew blood from black spines and fractured skulls
And then there was my grandmother minister Anna Moore
born with healing hands
She would lay hands on the people and they were healed
She was healing while women like
Bessie Smith
Lauren Hill
And Erykah Badu
were singing black women’s blues
And then I asked America
What happened to the women?
America said
We have
degraded her
constrained her
infringed on her rights
with ancient laws, corporate policies
and biblical written rules
We have attempted to
silence her by bending her over in the evening and
raping her of dreams and real potential
We have drenched her in R Kelly’s urine and
poisoned her with Weinstein’s lips
In the land of freedom promise and opportunities
In America
Women were viewed as cattle too, women were lynched too
Women were put on auction blocks
their ancient beautiful buttocks symbolizing
sex for the men who would take them
We were on the killing fields
We feel the continuation of rape
through human trafficking of girls as young as 9 years old
child brides
abducted children being sold off for as little as $12.00
and girls become the world’s forgotten population
But, but, but! America said “You’ve come a long way”
While Trump was holding hands with
his white supremacist brothers and applauding racist rants
We were inspiring our children,
promoting education and health
Celebrating
The resolve of
Harriet Tubman
Ida B. Wells
The raised fists of
Angela Davis
Assata Shakur
The groundbreaking strides of
Michelle Obama
And so many more
Continuing our resistance through
Black Lives Matter
Black Girls Rock
And the Me Too movement
Freedom is wrapped in the spines and breasts of Black women
And so I asked America
Why did you take us out of the history books?
Attempt to remove us from the future?
We knew freedom first
We have known slavery, colonialism, apartheid and Jim Crow
Then there was the stereotype
Then the lie
America said
We were Mary Jane’s
The Real Housewives
Basketball Wives
Love and Hip Hop
Wrapped in media lies, cognitive bias and
Reality TV madness
We knew freedom first
We have known slavery, colonialism, apartheid and Jim Crow
Then there was the stereotype
Then the lie
In America and Beyond
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