Black Agenda Report
Black Agenda Report
News, commentary and analysis from the black left.

  • Home
  • Africa
  • African America
  • Education
  • Environment
  • International
  • Media and Culture
  • Political Economy
  • Radio
  • US Politics
  • War and Empire

They
Bill Quigley
20 Aug 2008
🖨️ Print Article

7_foot_poet_upright_250wideby Kemet Mawakana, a.k.a. the Seven Foot Poet

How many times have we heard that "they" control your hood, your head and sometimes your heart, to hear some tell it.  You know "how they do us", right?"  The Seven Foot Poet wants you to ask the next question. 

Just who are "They"?  

“THEY”

The audio for this poem is temporarily unavailable.

 

“Aberrant behavior is shaped by its consequences”

 

The mysterious “they” are everywhere

“they” did that to me

“they” did this to them

“they” did that too

“they” hurt my family and friends

 

“they” are going to get theirs

“they” better get back

“they” allowed it to happen

“they” strategically set up that

 

“they” thrive and continue to hide

When you refer to them as “they”

“they” lose effectiveness and get more resistance

When “they” is stripped away

 

Name the names

Tell me the addresses

Show me their pictures

I want their parents’ and their children’s identities too

I want “they” to consider immediate retribution upon them and their loved ones

Before “they” do what “they” do

Then “they” will reconsider

Sick the paparazzi on the board members

Publish the policy makers

Advertise the advisors

Broadcast the manipulators

Don’t show me reality shows that could hardly be any faker

Because it is consequences that shape behavior.

 

By Kemit Mawakana (aka The Seven-Foot Poet)

 

Peace (when appropriate) War (when necessary)

 
 

Copyright 2008.

 

Kemet Mawakana (aka “The Seven-Foot Poet”) is a highly acclaimed spoken-word artist, and has published two books A . . . Z . . . Infinity and Crucifixion of My Soul. The collective body of his works presented weekly in BAR are in tribute to Listervelt Middleton, Dr. John Henrik Clarke, and “For The People”. Currently, he is a facilitator at AYA Educational Institute (www.ayaed.com) and can be reached at sevenfootpoet@gmail.com.

Do you need and appreciate Black Agenda Report articles? Please click on the DONATE icon, and help us out, if you can.


More Stories


  • Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
    French Court Convicts French-Cameroonian Journalist Charles Onana of Speech Crime
    11 Dec 2024
    A French criminal court has convicted a journalist for writing dissident history about Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
  • Jon Jeter
    The White Settlers’ Bizarre Economic Strategy of Terrorizing Black People
    11 Dec 2024
    Jordan Neely's killing and the subsequent acquittal of Daniel Penny can be seen as part of the reactionary existential panic felt by whites whenever the country experiences growing economic…
  • Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
    History’s Hired US
    11 Dec 2024
    "History’s Hired US" is the latest from BAR's Poet-in-Residence.
  • Efia Nwangaza
    The Dobbs Decision: Increased Black Maternal Deaths
    11 Dec 2024
    Black women, already leading in maternal mortality rates, are now at even greater risk of complications and death as more states impose stricter abortion laws.
  • Black Alliance For Peace
    Syria: The Return to the Scene of Obama’s Crime
    11 Dec 2024
    The US regime change campaign against Syria began after Barack Obama succeeded in destroying the Libyan state. All of his successors followed the same playbook.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us