This brings to mind an artist from the sixties, Gil Scott-Heron and before him a group called The Last Poets. Mr. Scott-Heron recorded a recited poem called The Revolution will not be Televised. Before LL Cool J, Dr.Dre, 50 Cent and Will Smith, this guy started the beginnings of this musical form with this recitation. When it came out, I was attracted to the anger of the words and to the eloquence of the delivery. Listening today, the references seem dated, calling out Nixon and Whitney Young. Please bear in mind that this was not written nor delivered to white kids like me that had all the opportunities America in the 60's could offer. He died in 2011 at 62. You can find the words in Google, still worth reading. Even though I was not the intended audience for this, the piece lifted the window on something I really knew nothing about, black rage against the system the oppressed a people for hundreds of years.
That revolution migrated into the Black Lives Matters protests and the outrage over the killing of George Floyd and others. At its core, this country has never dealt with the continuing racial disparities that exist. A jogger is assassinated in Georgia and a twelve year old boy is shot in Cleveland. Babies hiding in bathtubs are killed in the crossfire and Brianna Taylor shot and killed because of the wrong address. I am still trying to sort out the why's in all these events. Further the Senator from the great state of Kentucky speaking of the John Lewis voter rights act, “Well, the concern is misplaced because, if you look at the statistics, African American voters are voting in just as high a percentage as Americans.”
Thats my diatribe for today.
all for now
stay safe
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