(a Black History month poem for 2017)
©Sylvia Cameron Telafaro/February 2017)
It began with the fruition of America
for Prosperity; turning out
1000s of T-voters as we battled,
for our lives to not be changed,
nor altered in the image
of the policies of “isms”
Isms that come into play as
Kochs’ donors meet with
wealthy friends
pooling hundreds of millions
for political spending;
a sinister plan
to implement,
embrace
and engage
in Systemic Racism.
Systemic Racism that come into fruition
resulting in the refusal
to restore the Voting Rights Act,
a sad mistake that we can never take back.
The fruition of the
Repealing of health-care
impacting millions of African Americans,
including the refusal to support living wages
while 54 percent of African Americans
make less than a living wage
is a national disgrace.
In this fruition, I cringe as I mention,
Scapegoating Muslim refugees,
mobilizing a deportation force &
gutting public education
in the name of choice
As I raise my voice,
I still hear the fruition of dog whistles
sent out to attack entitlement programs,
ignoring the simple truth
a truth that will not
withstand Senate rules,
that they serve more whites
than black or browns,
a policy that is considerd sound.
As Black people find that policies promoting
“law and order”
target poor black and browns
for mass incarceration in this nation.
Racial inequality persists in America
not because of racist white men
but because of the policies
supported by most men
in control of this American nation
now being rewarded,
by bringing their policy ideas to full fruition
Senate rules may allow this truth
of systemic racism to be shut down
but we will not sit down,
We will not calm down
we will not be silenced,
we will keep fighting for justice,
we will not stop
trying to overcome
Systemic Racism in this nation
As we proceed into 2017,
with Attorney General Sessions
embracing this political fruition.