“I’m Not A Gangsta Or A Thug!”

Activism, America's Human RIghts Abuses, America's Ongoing War Against Descendants Of Slaves, Black Men, Black women and Black children, Bullshit!, Criminal Justice System And Racism, Discrimination, Freddie Gray, Michael Brown, Poetry, Poverty, Racism, Sandra Bland, Slavery In America, Tamir Rice, Terrorism, The Militarization of Police Departments Across America, The Plantation 2 Minutes

gangsta

I remember waking up and I didn’t know where I was.
Somebody told me that I was shot, shot twice by the fuzz.

I had been walking down the street,
holding a bag of chips to eat.
I heard a popping sound, felt the burn in my side.
I fell to the ground with eyes open wide.

I heard him yelling in my ear, “Nigga, don’t you move!”
He shot me for no reason, I guess he was in the mood.
My mama, she is crying, she don’t know what to do.
Don’t let this happen again; they could do this shit to you.

I’m not a gangsta or a thug,
but they got off with just a shrug.
They say I’ll never walk again,
not in Massa’s slave pen.

So, go to Massa and wail and whine!
Beg that heartless, soulless swine
to stop filling us with lead
until we are maimed or dead!

Written by,
Shelby I. Courtland
©2016 Shelby I. Courtland

Does this sound familiar? It should! This has happened times too numerous to count and since we just finished celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Day, let us take a moment and consider what accomplishments and strides we have made towards ending police brutality, racism, mass incarceration, income inequality, abject poverty, rampant unemployment, a school-to-prison pipeline, low economic achievement, gentrification, discrimination and segregation, not to mention voting rights. Are we good? Those protest signs that beg ole Massa to give us a goddamn break and get his boot off our necks are working, are they not? Heard of any police shootings of unarmed Black people lately? Heard of any strange hanging incidents in jail cells of young Black women who had everything to live for? Heard of any Black children getting shot while playing in a park? Heard of the gutting of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 by the Supreme Court? Heard Obama say that he is mad as hell over the murder of little Black children by racist cops? HA! That’ll be the day!

So, how are we doing? We have come so far since the days of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and his merry band of protesters, have we not? You still printing signs? Why? We have come SO far! Surely there is no need for more protest signs. Surely. Yeah! Wake me when your signs and your walking shoes actually accomplish something. Until then, continue on as though it is not your blood that is flowing down every street in this shithole called, AmeriKKKa! Because if you were THAT concerned about all of the issues in the aforementioned paragraph, believe me, the last thing you’d be doing about them is marching with a dusty lame ass fifty-year old protest sign!

Published by ShelbyCourtland

I am an advocate for the poverty stricken, homeless, hungry, voiceless people who are considered to be the 'unwashed' masses but whom I consider to be the unsung heroes for surviving a never ending battle waged against them in the form of poverty wages, no benefits, living paycheck to paycheck, needing medical coverage while employed, trying to feed their families on stagnant wages that have not kept pace with inflated prices. And so the battle continues.....

Published

20 thoughts on ““I’m Not A Gangsta Or A Thug!””

  1. Pingback: “I’m Not A Gangsta Or A Thug!” | colouredjustice.wordpress.com

    1. I hear you Kelley! This year is the year I leave this shithole! I am SO goddamn done, stick a fork in me, I’m fucking done! These stupid shits over here, fifty more years from now will still be wearing out the soles of their shoes on yet ANOTHER march. I guess the next ‘movement’ will be called #BLACKATTACK Movement. When will we understand that we cannot protest a bullet out of our ass, that we cannot protest away racism, mass incarceration, segregation, gentrification, etc.? I hear tell that Baltimore, MD is getting ready to tear down entire neighborhoods of houses instead of starting some type of rehab program and in turn, house the thousands upon thousands of homeless people who are walking around in that city. Hell! Rent court is so overwhelmed because those poverty stricken people cannot pay the exorbitant rents that are demanded of them. The landlord holds all the Aces and the deck is stacked against the Black people even when the landlord refuses to fix up a fucked up ass slum like dwelling because of who is renting it.

      I despair OF us!

      Thank you for your comment Kelley!

      Liked by 1 person

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      2. I am hoping to start up a business when I get there and I will certainly keep you posted Kelley!

        The shit over here is only going to get worse and as horrifyingly horrible as it is now, I cannot even imagine. And that is why I have put into motion, the means to get the hell out! It’s been years in the making.

        Thank you for your comment.

        Liked by 1 person

    1. Thank you Dr. Bramhall. I guess it is moving because I aim to be ‘moving’ right along soon, myself. This is MY goddamn year to get the hell out! I will leave these stupid shits to their marches and their protests.

      Thank you for your comment Dr. Bramhall!

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