Dedicated to humanizing incarcerated people through the expressive vessels of their art and literature. Committed to accelerate higher education and careers post-conviction.
We march holding signs, We hold hands while we chant, We sing we shall overcome – but secretly we believe we can’t.
We plead with our oppressors, We beg our enslavers, We vote for our enemies and hope they show us favor.
Our Black men live in chains, Our Black women get shot, Our children are miseducated Are we free? I think not.
To overcome this racist system, Blacks must face the facts, We do not need the White man, it is the White man who needs Blacks.
When he teaches us our history, Blacks are traded like stocks When we learn of Black empires, this comes as a shock.
These books are never recommended, These facts never mentioned, Our so called White allies are those who kept us dependent.
Your thoughts are not your thoughts, Your own words you cannot talk, So before you give an opinion, you first must be taught.
The art of peaceful protest that’s a tool for the poor, But the rich and affluent always threaten civil war.
The powerful understand power, But the powerless are unsure, This is why for every life lost, they will lose a hundred more.
One day when Blacks lose patience, One day when Blacks stop waiting, One day Blacks in this nation will overcome racism through separation.
– Lord Serious Hakim Allah / J. Boughton Jr., Chesapeake, VA #1404741
Lord Serious Hakim Allah is the author of the controversial book APOTHEOSIS LORD SERIOUS HAKIM ALLAH’S HABEAS CORPUS APPEAL available now on Amazon.com for $10.00 plus s/h. It is a must read.
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.
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…
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!
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.
The halfway point has arrived, establishing this year as the tilling: the cracking of the ground and ingrained systemic racism – granting some air to the fertile soil of change that has desperately been fighting for breath.
A pandemic – resembling a biblical pestilence; and protest – resembling a spiritual famine… what is this? The exodus? Who knows what powers are at work. But what is known (and is clear) are the frustrations baring down on the souls of the free… and now those souls seek the surface…
The pandemic has given time to those who were too engulfed in their own daily struggles to see the lifetime national collective struggle of our country and our world. Protests, like the pandemic, have reached beyond seas and touch minds and hearts of blacks, whites, and all colors of multiple nationalities that believe in the ideals of equality and freedom perpetuated and woefully being contradicted by our country. Those contradictions stand to tear the free world apart. But ever-resilient is the spirit of mankind, and even more pervasive is the spirit of freedom that drives man to fight.
To fight from chains onto an identity. To fight from poverty onto prosperity.
We must not forget, injustice festers in a state of complacency. Forever vigilant, is the eye of the one who fights for freedom. The energy for the movement towards true change is robust, but momentous. We cannot allow the visions of truth and justice to flee once this one ceiling gives way. And when I say we, I say ALL who believe, faithfully, that justice and equality are more substantial than empty undertones hinting to a state unattainable by the human family.
Some people profess: “well if the pandemic didn’t hit, then this wouldn’t be as intense,” or “If we had a different president, we wouldn’t be going through this.” All could be true. Even so, I myself believe that even when others like to disregard it in these tragic times, everything happens for a reason. Even the struggling is purposeful. Us, as a nation having to endure Trump, having to suffer through coronavirus, and the tragic loss of George Floyd, each egregious event holds its stake in the change to come.
I spoke with my mother one day and expressed my depression, seeing the early stage of the protests turning violent. My mother thought I was depressed because the people were violent. I told her it wasn’t that the people were violent, it was because the people they felt HAD to be violent in order to be heard… that tension over what is clearly a mistreatment of human rights was ignored to the point of explosion… My mother then reminded me that ‘change takes time, and the more monumental the change, the more time it it’ll take…’ She said her grandmother was a slave, her mother lived through civil rights, and she endured the social injustices of the 70’s. Now, our generation, and its youth, masses of whites, blacks, Asians; the modern make of America, take to the streets to push even harder towards equality’s inevitable fruition.
The seed of freedom has been sown in every lasts one of us.
Even in their most hopeless conditions, our ancestors nurtured that seed for generations, and for the generations to come. Now, that seed has pushed beyond the dirt. It has pushed beyond the unknown and hypothetical. To greet and take in the sun and its light… to take in its truth.
We NOW know. The idea of freedom and equality are no longer ambiguous or relegated to some seemingly special privileged class of people. No. It is known now that freedom is an inalienable right of every one human being ingrained in the soil of all who are blessed to take part in the life. So no, I am not distraught by the fighting. Because those who fight, are fighting for what is theirs…
May the souls of every person be aflame with the fires of freedom.
May every tear and drop of blood not be in vain, nor let the blood cool over illusions of freedom.
Continue to fight with every bit of your life, because the world of tomorrow is authored by the heroes of today…
Forever my love and strength to the movement, Q. Patterson
What does this word mean to me? 7 letters with such a powerful impact that becomes more than the actual verb of the word itself. What I thought was freedom – able to come & go at will, no limitability – was just barely scratching the surface of what it truly represented. See, being incarcerated for a long time gives new meaning to simple (everyday) normalcy; and with time normally comes wisdom & insight. With that said, knowing the dynamics of its core definition, freedom does not necessarily mean that one is free to do whatever (without barriers). It just means you’ve been let go (for temporary purposes). But don’t get it twisted, you’re not all the way free. You still got limitations on your blackside. As a human being, coming into existence puts a limit on you; so you are never “free” to really be free, or have freedom.
A good prime example: this COVID-19 virus that is seriously affecting the worlds population right now. There is no freedom in that or from it. Young or old, big or small, hot or bitter cold, it affects all that comes into contact with it. This strips all of their “so – called” freedom in one form or another. If its not the virus itself, then its the government restrictions placed on society’s movements. New news for all of us!
Freedom is something that one will never really experience, due to life limitations & restrictions, no matter how much or hard one tries to achieve such. It’s just one of the many possibilities that we’ll never reach, no matter the exerted energy into it. Sad as they say, but so very true to the essence & core of the meaning. That’s my take and overstanding of the issue here.
– D.Moyler – Words of Wisdom :-), #1119539, Virginia
“Martin crawled, so that Malcolm could walk. Malcolm walked, so that Obama could run. Obama ran, so that we could fly!”
This is the process that pioneers of human right and revolution sacrificed their life for and its quotes, like this one, that intrigue me and inspire me to find a just cause in this life and defend it from injustice.
One would say, “What are we fighting for in 2020? ” I would answer that question with the above quote… In my opinion, we as citizens of America, have two common enemies: oppression, and ignorance. Oppression is the main reason, so I would say that we are fighting to f.l.y. (free lives, yes!)
Freedom is based on being unbounded, and/or unrestricted in all realities of life. Life is to be lived in peace, so when you ( as a human being) are treated inhumanely you tend to rebel against the source of oppression. Maya Angelou’s “I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings” sums up the point I’m expressing. Peace!
– Romello Harris, #1987153, Greensboro, North Carolina Aspiring Singer/Producer
My name is Shaveek Pittman and I am currently incarcerated at Lawrenceville Correctional Center in VA.
My view of ‘what’s free’ is the choice that each and every one of us have to receive all that life has to offer, or to be closed off from what we call blessings. Sometimes it’s real easy to get caught up in our present circumstances and to forget that if you just let go of all of the emotions and the mindset that is suppressing your truest abilities and causing you to feel as though you must suffer all of the time, nothing could hold you back.
I believe that anyone who decides that they will no longer allow anything to imprison them within their minds, is free in every sense of the word. This is my deepest conviction of what it is to be free. Thank you for the opportunity to express these thoughts, and for listening.
My name is Jay Strode and this is my first entry participation in Brilliance Behind Bars submission.
So to begin my definition of freedom, I would start with the premise that one is bound by something. Whether these things be natural physical means or psychological/mental and even spiritual means, to be free is to be afforded the opportunity/privilege to choose. To choose what you may ask? Well, I would say to choose life to choose love, hope, peace, and prosperity just to name a few things. If we as people are truly free why on earth would we choose things that would be to our detriment or counterproductive to our overall wellbeing? Could it be because we are bound by something? Ignorance, philosophical anorexia, or even lack of the ability to simply critically analyze people or situations, these can be root causes for the lack of freedom. My personal prescription for obtaining, securing, and maintaining freedom is a daily dose (in the midst of penitentiary living) of humility, forgiveness, and love.
We must remain open to knowledge, wisdom, and understanding. For without understanding, there is no application of the things we’ve learned. And I believe that freedom is not only linked to choice, but also process as in the learning process. Choice is just that powerful. I never intend on belaboring a point or proverbially beating a “dead horse”.
So for that point and that point alone, I will close for now but never forever. Shalom. Meditate on these things.
Brilliance Behind Bars 