Man // Foundations

By Brandon Hope

Black man, white man, who am I man?
Oppressor or victim to oppression?

I am human, you can not second guess it –
but that tends to go in one ear and out the other.
The less that I’ve chosen one race over the other,
the deeper I dove in to the bi-racial struggle.

Confusion that’s when they can’t tell what’s my color.
Deception accusations when they can’t tell what’s my color.

Abusive repercussions cause I’m not quite my mother,
Abusive repercussions cause I’m not quite my father,
Abusive repercussions cause they don’t know what I am,
Abusive repercussions when I’m merely just a MAN.

My experience with racism is very different from most, being that I am a bi-racial man that comes from a bi-racial household. For one, my grandparents on both sides of my family are very bias towards the other race, so that was an interesting and painful experience growing up, never feeling accepted in my own home amongst my own family. Then, I got the same type of experience at school and in my neighborhood. So on top of the systemic racism that we are all faced within our neighborhoods, (the ghetto) and in our schools, I was dealing with it from my family and peers.

Now, I believe that racism can be fixed…. but only with hard work and time, because racism is inbred within the system (when I say the system, I am speaking of the American government).

Now, picture the system as a structure like a building. If the system was a building, then the issue that needs to be fixed is deep within the concrete structure, so the only option when there is a structural problem, is to build a new foundation. But to build a new foundation, we must first tear down the building; and the new building can’t be built upon another corrupt foundation. There must be no flaws, or we will have to tear it down again. There should be no hatred in the foundation, nor bias of any kind. We must find a way to utilize love, or at the very least empathy, and build our foundation amongst it.

The answer to racism is the most common and simple phrase you hear growing up – but it is also the most complicated – because America as a whole has still failed to master it. All we have to do is, TREAT OTHERS HOW YOU WANT TO BE TREATED!!! Think about it.

– Brandon C. L. Hope, From Hampton, VA

Prompt: Justice for All? Overcoming Racism in America

From day one, American children are unassumingly taught of a set of illusionary lines concerning race… lines that marked boundaries, established sides, and created imaginary boxes that have kept a great disparagement present between races in America, possible.

The American heritage can be accurately described as one giant story of racial volatility. Its origins are steeped in a history of industrial slavery, initiating racial proclivities sustaining major gaps between the black and white conscious in America since the emancipation of slaves. All the psychological devices used to engineer more complaint products in the slave trade, and ensure that the markets could be ripe with white consumers who actually WANTED to own other human beings, had some serious after-effects. Effects that have prompted a set of unspoken laws and rules that serve to preserve the series of debaucheries that created America and its debased heritage of racial inequality…

No present day American is totally free from the effects fore mentioned. The propagation of racial class and the absurd idea of an inferior or superior race forms the basis of what the present black-white social interaction is in our counter. The concepts of white privilege and black anger show the deep contrast of the American experience. The practice of widely accepted, government sponsored denigration of humans into property, is our history. Black leaders only sought out the complicated task of reconstructing the identity of an enslaved, newly-freed, newly- formed people, Black Americans. The first bit of culture Black Americans assumed for themselves was met with public skepticism and political fear-mongering. The majority and mainstream America instantly demonized it and branded the concept of “being Black” as a lunatic fringe, subversive counterculture. “Being Black,” they labeled as “aggressive” and “anarchist.” Black people were displeased and here to overthrow the government. “They’re angry, they’re loud, you should fear them…”

Time has exposed the truth and brought their devices to heel. The modern-mind of our nation now has experienced the advent of social media in the age of information, a Renaissance in thought on American society and race relations. Now, what do we do with it? We COULD say the atrocities committed against black people were done in the ignorance that befell a still growing America… sure, that COULD be said… but that’s for those who truly believe in the strength of human decency and the belief that love can and will transcend us all into a greater society. Still, for those select few, there is the essential task of activism – manifesting beliefs into the material world by means of work… regardless of color, right is right. That feeling that claws at the heart for change, is justice. It is real and it is one. It is the key to the next step in us all making America ‘greater than it’s ever been.’

Educate the mind, keep up the body, free the soul. All power to the brothers and sisters of the struggle… We are one nation. INDIVISIBLE, with JUSTICE FOR ALL…

Prompt: Write an essay, make art, or write a poem answering the following:

What is your experience with racism? Can it be conquered or overcome? Do you have ideas how to do it?

With the special session coming up, they say there’s a chance for change within the system. Do you see that helping or hurting chances at overcoming racism and achieving justice?

-Q. Patterson

Sleep in Peace, by Brandon Hope

Awake behind walls of concrete,
Stay away wicked thoughts of deceit,
My appearance and my name is clean,
The truth lies in my thoughts and my dreams.

Drift asleep and nightmares are present,
wide awake and life’s still unpleasant.
Through the pain, hate is the norm.
Utilize love and make it form
the new norm,
a brand new society,
one where to get justice –
there’s no need for rioting.
Where there will be no battles where none should exist,
Now I understand why we hold up our fist.

The power’s in us, united at least.
Once we accomplish this goal,
I can sleep in peace.

– Brandon C. L. Hope, From Hampton, VA

Policing the police: How to make them accountable for overstepping bounds, or acting above the limits of what the law warrants

My thoughts on such are: they’re needed to keep order to a degree, & to keep chaos & anarchy in check. However, not all are bad, but not all are good either. So, the key of the matter is to weed out the bad ones who stain the rest. Those that believe that they’re above the letter of the law – & because they are protected by the badge – that they can do whatever they feel on their whims (disregarding justice). What we are witnessing right now (history in the making), is a change that’s long overdue.

GOD WILLING, we see positive change soon before more unnecessary lives are taken to soon.

I remember my police brutality moment, where I was choked (literally), for not incriminating myself of a situation, & that was after being maced in the face, knocked down to the ground & handcuffed. This was all because I laughed at one of the two officers, dude put his hands around my throat and literally choked me, up to the moment I was about to pass out.

I was fortunate enough that his partner came back to where we were and stopped him (good cop/bad cop). The one who choked me, he does not need to be in a position of an authoritative figure. It’s individuals like this that black the eyes of the rest. To you, cops, you know your colleagues better than we do. You’re aware of who stains what you stand for, and who stands for real justice. Every brother, ain’t really a brother, unless he proves such. So, the way I view such, y’all that claim to stand for right (justice & equality), need to take center stage and do what you swore to do, “TO PROTECT & SERVE” (not your personal agenda, but the community’s agenda).

How many more sacrifices is it going to take for true change to come? Enough is enough. Me, personally, I’m sick & tired, of being sick & tired. It’s getting to that ‘I don’t care’ (attitude) point. Stop killing us! It’s happening so frequently that I’ve lost count. Seems like every other day, another soul is on ice. Change is overdue. Push til you can’t no more (cause/effect), talking is good, but only gets you so far. Action is the vehicle & a means, hopefully to a end. Stay strong & focus my people, if you seek to be equal. My blackness is not a crime! LET ME LIVE!

Sincerely, D. Moyler #1119539, Virginia

American Growing Pains

The United States of America… an idea grander in scale than any nation before it. Unlike most other countries proceeding its coming, it was conceived deeply in an idea, rather than monarchical heritage or empirical legacy… The American concept is rooted in daring, unimaginable goals that most older nations fear to venture. But the struggle of a pioneer is that of the unknown… we, as a nation have no blueprint. We have no model. Even a child who learns to walk has a parent to mock, as it takes on a task it has never done before, and still it does not succeed without undergoing great difficulty at first… standing, bracing, falling a number of times… these are its growing pains.

Our country in its infancy has no parent. It is self created and unable to model what has come before it. Most of its being still resides in the realm of idea. Slowly, it moves into existence through the gates of the evolving human heart and mind, as they can better identify what it means to be human. The journey from what our country was, onto what it is now, has already challenged the understanding of humankind and its very definition of what humanity is. This shifting of perspective did not come with flowery grace or comfort. No true growth can take hold in such unchallenging conditions. It has come with great troubles, great struggles to stand, great falls; but they are all important to the growth of our nation, and the growth of humanity as a whole.

The great confusion and fear, giving way to the tremendous violence that has ensnared our country for centuries, is a product of the growing pains associated with the next stage of our nation’s development. It is not because humankind is inherently evil, no, it is because humankind is inherently fearful. But as the test of time has exposed the world of fact, we are always more fearful than we should be, and always braver than we expect. So, I welcome the growing pains, as they are evidence of the great transformation my beloved country is taking on…

Everyone who believes that the ideas of freedom, justice, and equality were intended as an absolute for every single person born or sworn to America do not let the unrest of the protest shake, deter, or discourage you…

What has been shown by great leaders before us is that the power of love and truth will withstand any measures taken by its opposition… keep your head up… and see the beautiful future that lays before you…

–Q. Patterson

POLICE REFORM: Communities

The prospect of police reform has recently become a new topic of debate on the national stage. This movement was sparked by the outrage the George Floyd video caused. The world watched in horror as a Black man was murdered by a White cop who kept his knee on his neck for 8:46. Law enforcement has the authority to deprive American citizens of their life and liberty. After George Floyd, America must now question should anyone be given such a right?

In my book, APOTHEOSIS LORD SERIOUS HAKIM ALLAH’S HABEAS CORPUS APPEAL, I predicted that the problem of police brutality would never be solved until the police were held accountable to the communities that they patrol. Who is policing the police? Who do they answer to? If it is not the community that they serve, then why do you expect them not to abuse their power? Especially, when White cops patrolling impoverished Black communities have an ‘us vs. them’ mentality every time they put on their uniform. They do not see the members of my community as their fellow neighbors. They do not have enough respect for us as their fellow citizens to respect our rights. When they arrest us, we are not promised to live long enough to even make it to a courtroom to have our day in court. Too often, White police officers play the role of judge, jury, and executioner for the unarmed Black man.

So, I think society needs to take the power out of the police union’s hands and give the power of oversight of the American police force back to the communities that these officers patrol. They need to make filing a complaint against an offending officers easier. Citizens should be able to file complaints online. They shouldn’t be required to drive down to the station, because some of them don’t even have cars.

I also want to see state legislatures to pass laws that will keep track of how many people are shot by police. The FBI keeps track of all crime, however, they do not keep track of how many unarmed Black men are being killed by police. And they also need to make laws that specifically define what excessive force is, and when it is appropriate to use. When the laws are too ambiguous, this is what allows offending officers to avoid being held accountable.

I think all officers on the scene should also be required to intervene when another officer is using excessive force. With these changes, the police can be better regulated and controlled. Peace.

– Lord Serious Hakim Allah / J. Boughton Jr., Chesapeake, VA #1404741

Take a Stand for What’s Right

It is a tragedy that many lives have been taken in the same way that George Floyd’s life was taken. In fact, it’s by the very ones who have the responsibility of protecting the lives of everyone in society. This is not an issue that has only occured once or twice, but has happened so often throughout the past, that it has a pattern of resurfacing whenever the time is right. Although these officers are the ones who are to blame for the lives that were taken, we as a society have opened the doors for things like this to happen. I’m not saying that we do not deserve better treatment, but what I am saying is that if we took responsibility for our own well being and the well being of those around us rather than waiting for someone to give us what is rightfully ours anyway, law enforcement would only be used when it was appropriate in situations like the ones we face today… where lives are taken by the authorities for no reason at all, the one who committed the murder would be facing the same punishment any civilian would face for the exact same crimes.

The only thing that I see fit for the times that we live in is that everyone gain their independence. What I mean by this is each and every one of us is in a much better position to carry out justice by educating ourselves and encouraging others. We shouldn’t continue to depend on the same ones who are threatening our livelihood day after day for protection. Everyone who decides to take a stand for what is right, prevents things like this from happening again.

My name is Shaveek Pittman and I am currently behind the walls of LVCC Lawrenceville, Va and I hope that all who read this are encouraged to keep striving for a brighter future.

– Shaveek Pittman

The Blind Indifference

Racism… I wasn’t brought up deliberately to hate another race of people. Sure my grandmother had a lot of animosity directed to the race of people who aimed water hoses and sicked attack dogs on her purely because she recognized and fought for her identity as nothing less than a human being, but she didn’t propagate such lessons of hate.

My mother came up in a time (mid 70s-80s) where the blatancy of racism was considered taboo and uncool, so racism took a more subtle approach and found less need to make spectacles because the concept of racism was inculcated deep into the social system. It suffused its ethereal existence in prejudice and stereotypes that painted one race superior to another. This form of idealism sunk into the minds of pro-Jim Crow generations and served to maintain the grip of white superiority in the battlefield of the mind on a level subconscious and virtually invisible to the masses of Americans.

By my generation’s coming, racism was still projected in its most overt form, as an egregious, flagrant prejudice where most Americans – black, white, and other – would not believe that it existed beyond alt right racist organizations such as the KKK and neo Nazis, but such was its greatest achievement. Just as the old saying goes, racism’s (like the devil) greatest trick was to make people believe it did not exist.

It took more for me than most to believe that racism was prominent amongst Americans. Most unknowingly partaking in the vile and divisive culture of racism. Myself, in my ignorance, included. But now, the Age of Information has dawned, shining a light so bright that the dark subversive culture of racism can no longer leech off the mind of the Free People. People who are now armed with a knowledge and a weapon undefeatable in a war where fear stoking and ignorance is the primary strategy of its enemy. This weapon is Truth.

The only way to ensure that we, Free People, continue to press the enemy back in our unending fight for the America’s soul is to continue to have the ugly conversations. To continue to sound the horn on watch against threats standing in oppostion to the ideal of equality. Continue to believe in the cause and its eminent ascension…

Know that the struggle for equality, in its truest form, is unceasing.

In this struggle, vigilance is key. Vigilance is mindful awareness.

In this struggle, vigilance allows no enemy to gain ground.

In this struggle, ignorance is blindness…

In this struggle, blindness to a very real enemy is lethal.

– Q, June 2020

Keep on Marching

How much longer do we have to march the streets in protest?

Our words can be seen from space, but we’re still not being heard.

We are still being killed in public, beaten in public and our young generations are being harassed and/or arrested for petty crimes just to have them in the system instead of being given a warning or a citation.

It took a deadly virus (I call a blessing in disguise, even though I’ve lost family and friends) to remove the blind fold from our eyes and now we can see all the injustice world wide.

— I believe the President is trying so desperately hard to reopen businesses to put the blind fold back on us, so we can no longer see the injustice and continued brutality from the police, to get the people back to work to stop the protest of the Black Lives Matter movement. —

Keep on marching as long as you can until we are heard; do not let them put the blinds fold back on. Black Lives Matter!

– Brandon Henry #1493358
Woodbridge, Va

Reflecting on Juneteenth

In response to the cries of their citizens for racial justice, Virginia has proposed that the tradition of Juneteenth, commemorating the emancipation of Black Americans from slavery, should be recognized as a state holiday. The governor of Virginia, Dr. Ralph Northam brought on Virginia Beach native, Pharrell Williams to help introduce the proposal. Ironically, the idea is for the holiday to be a paid vacation day…

Gathering a consensus, many do not trust this proposal, seeing it as pandering to blacks as a means to calm protest. Others see it as a significant symbol in the struggle for change. I, myself take a more centered point of view…

The removal of confederate monuments, symbols of America’s less than perfect past and the implementation of holidays such as Juneteenth, to honor a very important step in the future of a more perfect union – and in what was the capital of the Confederacy leading the way! Is this not a message that the country is finally hearing its peoples calls for change? Could be…

I asked an older black man for his take on it. He had some advice that I believe is important for younger generations who are desperately seeking change… He said that they should not be satisfied with mere peace treaties. He has seen throughout generations where his people accept concessions and ease their stances. He urged they should not stop their protest until they KNOW (not assume), that a suitable standard for cultivating true social/economical equality is achieved. They should understand and have intelligible demands. To me, he was saying only they, the people, have the power to make sure that Juneteenth is not just degraded into another political maneuver and a very cruel reminder of a government’s deliberate attempts to hold back a people based on their racial identity. Instead, they should make sure it actually marks a turning in the culture of how America treats race…

All in all, I admire Virginia’s proposal to make Juneteenth a state holiday. I believe it to be a courageous move. It sets a standard for our nation. It also shows the consciousness and transformative power of a state that’s willing to not only recognize its fault, but stands to correct them.

I am a Virginia native, and I’m proud to see the present mind of Virginia overcoming its leading role in the history of American slavery. Hopefully, our nation as a whole can emulate this mindset, and take diligent steps to correct the great wrongs made in its less-than-perfect past.

I do believe in the ideal America. I believe that all of its principles are achievable, and I will fight constantly to ensure that I do everything I can to realize those truths.

Happy Juneteenth to all.

–Q, 6/19/20