{"id":228136,"date":"2022-07-13T04:10:30","date_gmt":"2022-07-12T22:40:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=228136"},"modified":"2022-07-18T01:05:55","modified_gmt":"2022-07-17T19:35:55","slug":"say-my-name","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/say-my-name\/","title":{"rendered":"Say My Name"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Ruvani Seneviratne Freeman<\/a> –<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Ruvani Seneviratne Freeman<\/p><\/div>\n

In Sanford they said it was the back of a head & then
\nthat it was a grey hooded man with candy to share;
\nin Brooklyn it took six more bullets after the first for Kimani<\/p>\n

known in Africa as sweet and beautiful; nineteen in Pasadena
\nfor college brought death too for Kendrec as it did for Timothy
\nin Bed-Stuy; in Cleveland it took one hundred and thirty-seven<\/p>\n

to bring down a Black man & two for a boy & who,
\nI ask, was the caller who unleashed the dogs of the dog
\non a twelve year old their anonymity sacred still \u2013<\/p>\n

For a brother in Atlanta it was he, not the sister he
\nwas saving that died, & in New York City the butchers
\nplaced forty-one bullets in Amadou Amadou Amadou<\/p>\n

for the audacity of having a wallet; in that same
\ncity of sin an altar-boy went down for the affront of
\nnot having marijuana to sell to the bastards &, I ask,<\/p>\n

how many millions would his daughters return
\nfor his life, how many for Ousman lying dead not
\nfar from there; no wedding for Sean Bell fifty bullets<\/p>\n

for the guts to have a bachelor party
\n& friends, for a 11-0 pitching arm, a daughter, Jada,
\nSkills, a life, a woman waiting this is New York man!<\/p>\n

But we have the name Black uniform that called fire
\ndown on a Black son it\u2019s okay to hate him go ahead do it do it;
\nfor Orlando on his knees & the two-legged K-9s<\/p>\n

who shot him for a notch in their baby-daddy take-down;
\nin Oakland Oscar lay face down obliging to be killed with ease;
\nthey paid 1.2 mil to a mother for her child walking backward<\/p>\n

arms locked behind a head she had cradled once in time before
\nin Portlandia scene of white freams; like Pensacola where Victor
\nrode a bicycle at seventeen so they rode over his body and<\/p>\n

it was a threat to the state to be Black & autistic in LA, to be
\nSeven & hot in Denver splashing water on your face, to be strong
\nIf you are Black at a zoo the water-fountain is still segregated<\/p>\n

didn\u2019t you know Alonzo didn\u2019t you know? And Ramerley, weed
\nIs not for you in your grandmother\u2019s Bronx home, not for you either
\nWendell, it is for the fortunate few whose skin looks<\/p>\n

nothing like yours their lives nothing like yours even in
\nyour own house, what does it matter in New Orleans, a house,
\na bridge, Danzinger in New Orleans, James & Ronald they<\/p>\n

said it was uncivil but not a crime, it is never a crime when
\nyou die; should I begin from the beginning, should I add the women,
\nRenisha, Rekha, Chantel, Tyisha, Yvette, Gabriella, Miriam, Jessica<\/p>\n

beauty-queen beautiful Tarika & Aiyanna seven at home
\nwith your blond Disney princesses and Pearlie you too,
\nto die this way at ninety-three and Kathryn you at nine-two
\nin your homes what had you done? It is always the same.<\/p>\n

No crime was committed
\nNo crime was committed
\nNo crime was committed<\/p>\n

I say your names
\nI say your names
\nI say your names<\/p>\n

*This poem is “Say My Name” It is taken from a collection of poetry called My Country \u2019Tis\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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