Note: Ericson Amaya and Pablo Paredes of AFSC's 67 Sueños Program wrote this poem on the occasion of the unveiling of the Black/Brown Unity Mural in Oakland, Califormia. Recently they read it at the AFSC Corporation meeting. The video of that reading is below. You can find their full moving presentation here. I was very inspired by this piece and am pleased to be able to share it here. - Lucy
I’m thinking of how we all know the name of that great big ship
that took the lives of
and yet immortalized 1500 Brits
in a body of water we call the Atlantic
Yes, the Titanic
I’m thinking of how it makes’ me sick!!!
Yes! Sick!
that below the surface
never to be unearthed is
a scathing commentary
on our humanity
See those British bodies landed in a
a crowded cemetery
Black corpses that didn’t go on cruises
they were ripped
from their mother land’s hip
And a hundred and fifty years since
Who among us knows the name of a single slave ship
But we all got emotional when Rose let Jack’s finger tips slip.
See WHITE life and love matter so much we memorize scripts
and easily access Hollywood clips
so that the words slide so smooth from our lips
that we don’t notice OUR histories.... are eclipsed
I’m trying to forget images of brown people with bongs
of cheach and chong
Of hard Taco shells from Taco Bell disguised as my culture
I’m tired of Gang bangers being the only representation of ME on TV
I’m wondering why there had to be a Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2 AND 3
I’m wondering why Narcos is the only Spanish word some people know
Why Cancun and Acapulco are the only places in Mexico that most people go
I’m thinking of El Chapo Guzman
and Pablo Escobar
And how familiar they are
I’m not just a picky media consumer complaining
I’m talking about my people hunted on National Geographic for pure entertainment
Border Wars took Crocodile Hunter’s place when Steve Irwin passed
And the sad reality is you know his name, but brown people are buried in mass
Mass graves, mass suffering mass PAIN
500 migrantes die each year crossing the Sonora desert and we don’t know a single name?
See, we mourn white death as national tragedies from Columbine, Sandy Hook
But the media silence around every life that La Bestia, el desierto y la migra took
is so loud it drowns out our screams, our dreams
11 million migrants, 90,000 children and all the suffering in between
I’m thinking of how the Media labels my brown brothers
Illegal
While my darker tone kinfolk get branded
Criminal
I'm thinking of Sheriff Bull Connor and Joe Arpaio
I think they shared the same bio
I’m thinking of the killing of Ruben Salazar and Brother Martin
I'm thinking of Jose Elena Rodriguez and Trayvon Martin
I’m thinking of Anastacio Rojas and Oscar Grant
I wanna say the things to their daughters that Anstacio and Oscar can’t
The struggle is real, and what we feel
has gone on for centuries
from the plantations to the penetentiaries
from Braceros to Jornaleros
Enslaved and encaged
in the service of gueros
4 block cells designed to maintain us ...Separate
Ching Ching
4 Block cells designed to turn pain ...into profit
Ching Ching
Caught up in brand names that brand us
Bling Bling
This Gouchie, This Louie, this Fendi
And while we keep spending
Ching Ching
Our people are fitted in Ankle Bracelets and Hand cuffs
Bling Bling
Once you locked up, you LEARN who makes all this stuff
Ching ching
I’m thinking of In Lak ‘Ech - Mayan Precept
I’m feeling Ubuntu - South African Concept
Tu Eres Mi otro Yo - “I am because we are
You are my other me - we are because I am.”
Black Brown Community
Let’s Build Unity
Vamos Mi gente Sumense
Unete
Black Brown Comunity
Let’s Build Unity
Vamos Mi gente Sumense
Unete
I’m thinking of peoples who built pyramids
And developed hieroglyphs
I’m thinking of Capoeira and Bomba Dancers,
I'm thinking of brown berets along side Black Panthers
I’m thinking of Emory Douglas the minister of culture
And malaquias montoya and the power of a Poster
I'm thinking of the Freedom riders and the Undocu-Bus.
I’m thinking the system can’t handle us
I’m thinking of how to stop SB 1070 and Stop and frisk
I’m thinking Of 67 Sueños and SNCC
I'm thinking that Harriet Tubman was the first Coyote
I’m thinking of Candied Yams and Camote
Of Blues and Corridos
Break dancing y Quebradita
I’m thinking of Scarab Beatles and Monarchitas
I’m thinking of In Lak ‘Ech - Mayan Precept
I’m feeling Ubuntu - South African Concept
Tu wres mi otro yo - “I am because we are
You are my other me - we are because I am.
Black Brown Community
Let’s Build Unity
Vamos Mi gente Sumense
Unete
Black Brown Comunity
Let’s Build Unity
Vamos Mi gente Sumense
Unete
In Lak’Ech Ubuntu