I will no longer sing the blues,
drugs, I must never, ever abuse.
If I don’t love me and I know I do,
how can I say that I love you?
My child, my child, come here to me.
Let me tell you my life’s story.
I was born on the poorest side of town.
White folks would look me up and down.
They never knew what to make of me.
My skin tone was all they could see.
I was sent to a school so far away.
I had armed guards on that very first day.
They called me names that I can hear still.
I would be dead if looks could kill.
I tell you child, I done seen it all,
‘Colored only’ written in a racist’s scrawl.
I’ve seen the Klan burn a cross in my yard,
and many a Negro body, lynched and charred.
Oh child, they put that crack in my hand.
I didn’t know that in jail, I would land.
But I gotta stand up and fight for you.
Someday, I’m gonna make you proud of me too.
I’m gonna break these chains that have held me back,
and be proud that I’m your mother and I’m off that crack!
Written by,
Shelby I. Courtland
©2016 Shelby I. Courtland
shelbycourtland 
Great write, Shelby.
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Thank you Richard and as always, that is high praise coming from you, indeed!
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I always admire your fire and passion, Shelby. It all seems so different from a Brit’s side of the Atlantic.
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Thank you again Richard. I just try and tell it the way it really is, life as I know it. Americans tend to sugarcoat everything because they are to be perceived as such ‘humanitarians’ when that is most definitely not the case. And with our lamestream media doing its best to hide the facts and the truth, it is up to people like me, to display our dirty laundry for all the world to see.
Thanks again, for stopping by!
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Always a pleasure 🙂
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Reblogged this on The Militant Negro™.
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I thank you most sincerely for the re-blog of this one!
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I will reblog everything you write.
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I am speechless!!! Thank you!
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The world should not be like this! I know that sounds lame, stupid, but it is all that is in my mind and on my heart now. It should not be like this for any human being, nor should it have ever been this way.
And if we (humanity) can’t end this nightmare, then maybe it is time for this world to come to an end!
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I know it and you know it Sojourner, but it does not seem that many others are aware of what we are aware of.
This one strikes a sorrowful note within me because my baby sister never had the chance to get married or have children because ‘crack’ stole her life. And soon, it will be coming up on three years since she died of a crack overdose and I cannot let a year pass by without posting something ‘in memory’ of her.
This is exactly why I get busted up and bent-out-of-shape because not one descendant of Afrikan slaves asked to be over here and we are treated like dog shit because of something that was no fault of our own. As far as I am concerned, I would rather have been stomped to death by a herd of stampeding elephants over in some country in Afrika than to experience all the unapologetic racism, bigotry and vile hatred that I have been subjected to as well as everyone else who looks like me.
And this is why I call this shit out every single chance I get. People can think me harsh until the cows come home, but let them walk a mile in my shoes and then they come talk to me!
I thank you sincerely for your comment on this one Sojourner!
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I would have already been in prison doing life, or dead, if I would have gone through what you and other people of color have gone through. You are much more in control than I ever could be.
See, there it is, I have to use black or people of color to denote you and others. And I have to refer to my self as white, when I write on an issue of race. This is insanity, Shelby! We are human beings, not white, black, red, yellow, or male and female, or protestant, Catholic or atheist, or American, African or UK. We are unique individuals, every last one of us. But we don’t know this, because we have been conditioned to forget it. This entire planet belongs to each of us, equally, but the real criminals have stolen it from us.
I know others have said these same things before, over and over. But maybe it needs to keep being said until things change or all of this hell ends in a nuclear explosion?
It’s all ancient wealth and power bullshit meant to divide and conquer we the individuals. And it began long before Europe or America were even known by the “civilized” ancients.
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But you see Sojourner, what many fail to understand is that we have become stronger because of all the suffering that we endure. That cannot be understood by those who don’t suffer. They don’t get why we continue on despite all hell thrown at us. They think that it weakens us, that it would cause an epidemic of suicides among us, and it didn’t and so that is why they’ve upped the ante and filled us with diseases, incarcerated us by the millions and are gunning us down on every shitty street in this hellhole because despite of and in spite of everything that is done to us, millions of us continue to breathe.
Eric Garner is not breathing now, but we will breathe for him and because of what happened to him.
If we had been left alone, none of this would be happening to us here, but somehow, we are to believe that what is happening is on us? No, it’s not! And I refuse to be silent on this. This is why I continuously let it be known, in case anyone should forget, just why my Black ass is in AmeriKKKa! The slaves did NOT drag themselves to this shithole to build it up. That is not on us. We all know who that is on, but they don’t want to own up to their shitty ass shit and that is why there are these constant attempts to re-write the fucked up history of this shithole. But as long as I can write a goddamn complete ass sentence, that’s not going to happen on MY motherfucking watch.
That Trump shit was initiated to get the racists all fired up and in turn, have Negro people get fucked up at those rallies and having everyone assume that a race war is about to unfold. Trump will go the route of all the other instigators when his usefulness has come to an end. And so to, will his base. They’ll crawl back into their double wides and go back to shooting tin cans and spitting out rotten teeth.
And meanwhile, those of us with more sense will watch this chaos unfold, shake our heads over it and continue on. It is all just another example of smoke and mirrors and entertainment.
Sojourner, I thank you for that spot on comment!
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Reblogged this on An Outsider's Sojourn II.
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I sincerely thank you for the re-blog! I’m a bit late, but as you know, I’ve been all over the place today! Thanks again!
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Shelby, you wrote
“They’ll crawl back into their double wides and go back to shooting tin cans and spitting out rotten teeth.”
Perfect description of the hating-everything-that-ain’t-them, southern-bible-belt redneck!
I grew up around some of these hill types (not that all are this way), and by the time I was out of high school I hated them. There was no reasoning with them: inbreeding could be the reason. I can remember telling friends, in referring to these Trump loving yahoos, “Hitler had the right idea, he just didn’t choose the right people.”
Of course, I was ignorant and said shit, back then, without thinking. Come to think of it, I haven’t changed much!;-)
You’re right, Shelby, Trump and his asshole supporters haven’t learned one of the primary lessons of history: a people can never be hated, harassed, enslaved, tortured, raped, pillaged and mass murdered to a point where they, as a people, will be broken. In fact, history shows just the opposite is true; and that is what you have described here!
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You already thanked me, kiddo! And you are more than welcome!
But I hear you. I spend more time on comments on other’s blogs than I do writing. I love it!
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Excellent post, Shelby.
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Why, thank you, Tubularsock! I appreciate that most enthusiastic compliment on this one. In all actuality, I feel as though I outdid myself on this one. As I read it back, it even brings me to tears. Again, I thank you!
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Great poem, Shelby.
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Thank you Dr. Bramhall! I sincerely appreciate the compliment and of course, as always, your comment!
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