Brothers and Sisters and ISIS
by Rev Reynard Blake, Jr.
Black folks don’t worry about ISIS
Skins too dark
Not valued, unlike white reporters
Who’d care if black people got beheaded?
That wouldn’t rally American and global retaliation
Black people couldn’t afford to pay ransoms, anyway
Low-wage, underemployed, and unemployed brothers and sisters
They’re having a hard time to stay alive
That’s far more dangerous than ISIS
If black people got killed by ISIS
They would just be collateral
Like in 9/11
ISIS is evil
Hiding behind Islam to kill
But, ISIS wants territory
By any means necessary
Ultimately, ISIS wants white people
To intellectually and spiritually slap white America
Terrorize them
Make white Americans look for them
Every nook and cranny
Make the world think about them every day
ISIS wants to raze their white American Jesus
Those same white people
The ones that internalize
“OUR God is better than your god”
Another way to say, “Allah and Islam—not valid”
ISIS wants to eliminate
The ones that sing the alabaster anthems
Like “God bless the USA” penned by Lee Greenwood
The ones that felt amorous
Warm and tingly
Loving George “I paint the pretty pictures” Bush
Especially when he said, “bring ‘em on”
It had the same effect as Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On”
ISIS wants the ones that cheered when Osama Bin Laden made dead
(Was that really justice served?)
Maybe to ISIS, Western nations=oppression
Western thought without respecting other cultures=terror
This could be the reason why Al Qaeda’s not gone, either
Some white folks would argue
“ISIS hates President Obama; they’d kill him”
Sure would, but for different reasons
Not because he’s black
He’s the black butler
The servant of the American war machine
Serving up drones for white corporate pleasure
ISIS and Al Qaeda
America’s chickens coming home to roost
Courtesy of American weapons
Obama
“The House Negro” as described by Malcolm X
The House Negro for White America
The House Negro for White-owned Corporations
Those corporations that he loves more than himself
Obama, The House Negro, seems to ask Wall Street: “Yeah boss, we sick?”
Obama saved the main neighborhood
The Wall Street neighborhood
He kept it from burning down
Now, it’s more valuable then ever
Obama calmed its fears
Obama should fear his Secret Service details
Black folk do have something to fear
Their local police forces
From Manhattan to Staten
Or, in Ferguson, Missouri
Misery in Missouri
Misery for black men from the Pacific to the Atlantic
All parts in-between
Brothers can’t even go to Walmart
Can’t go to its’ gun aisle
That’s reserved for whites
Brothers could get gunned down
Same problems for Brown
Brothers used for target practice
Police get Gats, tanks, tear gas and big-assed bullets
Courtesy of the federal government
And, let’s not forget about choke holds and tasers
Again, black folks don’t fear ISIS
Blacks fear those sworn “…to protect and serve”
They fear “Stop and Frisk” and “Stand Your Ground”
They fear America’s gun culture
ISIS doesn’t pull over brothers
Brothers, sisters, and brown kinfolk
They fear and suffer from drug cartels
The ones that get their filthy money scrubbed by banks
Brothers and sisters in Detroit
They fear the man turning off their water
No water--a TRUE human rights violation
Obama has the gall to go to the UN
Talking about climate change and ISIS
Some Americans are living Third World
‘Cause brothers and sisters don’t have jobs
Who worries about ISIS when there’s Barack Obama?
And, let’s not forget Congress
The Democrats and Republicans
Obama speaks of freedom
And then, taps phones
Watching keystrokes
Obama had a slogan: “Yes, we can!”
Now, it’s “Yes, he can!”
Limiting freedom
Isn’t that like ISIS?
Black folk don’t worry about ISIS
Again, if they died at ISIS’ hand
They would just be collateral
Here’s something ironic:
While white people live in fear of ISIS
White real estate companies are co-conspirators in creating black ghettoes
And, since white communities are the main targets of ISIS
Black ghettos are the safest
Black folks’ main threat--gentrification
Black people losing homes—THAT’S terror!
Again, black folks don’t worry about ISIS
They just worry about racism and all its’ trappings
Black and White Americans have things to fear
But, for different reasons
From different sources
From different places
Reverend Reynard N. Blake, Jr., M. S. is an ordained Baptist minister living in East Lansing, Michigan with his wife Karen Kelly-Blake, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Center for Ethics and Humanities in the Life Sciences at Michigan State University (MSU). He earned his Master of Science degree in Community Development-Urban Studies from MSU and a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the College of Charleston (SC). He has co-authored several articles on faith-based community development and is also a poet, political analyst, and social critic. His work has appeared on Black Commentator, Michigan Family Review, Op-ED.com, the Online Journal of Urban Youth Culture and Black Agenda Report. He is putting on the final touches on a book of political parody and poetry; no publisher yet. He would appreciate any input on where and how he can get it published. He can be reached at reynardblakejr@yahoo.com.
Scouting day dreaming, dreaming, anticipating a Hollywood Bowl where some master painter splashed stars all over night’s navy blue canvas…
This week’s featured scholar is Adam Bledsoe. Bledsoe is Assistant Professor of Geography at the University of Minnesota. His article “Neither Ground on Which to Stand, nor Self to Defend: The…
"Abolition" is the word of the moment. But what does it mean? How should it be taught? Robert Sirvent and Sarah Abdelaziz discuss.
Roberto Clemente was one of the all-time great baseball players and one of the best in a long line of Afro-Latinos. He also acted in solidarity with people around the world, which ironically led to…
The U.S. brokered Abraham Accords normalized relations between Israel and some Persian Gul Arab regimes. But Israel discovered at the recent World Cup that the Arab masses are still in solidarity…
