"Nigga"

“…Negro's, black as Cain,

May be refin'd, and join th' angelic train.”  -  Phillis Wheatley

The nigga on the right

Hates the nigga on the left

And the niggas at the top

Are puttin' niggas on the shelf

Some niggas have it all

And they hoard all of their wealth

Other niggas are doin' what they can

And make the most of what's left

 

One nigga says

Another nigga's skin is too dark

And when that nigga disagrees

It's like igniting a spark

Everything goes dark

And that's the way it all starts

Now niggas are on a mission

To tear those niggas apart

 

Sellin' niggas like they're stock

Dead a nigga for his guac

If that nigga needs a ride

Then that nigga better walk

(Or sell rocks)

 

Front row niggas

Holdin' backseat niggas

To a much lower standard

Ignoring what they're seein'

In the mirror

 

Inferior niggas

With their fingers on the trigger

Accomplices to the nonsense

As a nigga's sense of worth

Begins to wither

So it figures…

Little niggas drawing pictures

Of a living hell

They've got nothin' to go home to

So what's left for a nigga...

But a cell?

 

But just beyond the pale

Is a cross and three nails

Where niggas, long ago, set up for failure

Find the good for what ails 'em

The race war that's been ragin'

Was long before us finished

To redeem us from our niggardly ways

And grant salvation to the chiefest of niggas

 

(cf. Numbers 12:1-10; Jeremiah 13:23; Proverbs 20:9; Romans 3:19, 23; 11:32; Galatians 3:22; Revelation 5:9-10)

 

Soli Deo Gloria,

Shon

Slave

“Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin." - John 8:34

It’s open season on the blackamoor…

And four score and seven
Only serves as a reminder
Of how far we are from heaven
Linkin’ us to a past
But we’re too easily forgettin’
The bondage that’s awaitin’
And treat it like a broken record

We scratch it up and mix it
Tryin’ to put a new spin on it
Thinkin’ that if we spend enough dough
That’s all we need to depend on
But those whips and chains are now whips and chains
Money stacks and diamond rings
As we tiptoe through the cotton rows
Chasin’ after the “finer things”

The same thing that is
Rainin’ down on Jupiter
Is the very same thing
That we’re willing to become captives for
The love of money
Is the mother of invention
Rooted in all kinds of evil
And limitless in its potential

Becoming a slave
Is much easier than we think
So many give up their freedom
Just to own a couple of trinkets –

Tinkertoys that pale in comparison to Zion
And precious jewels that will one day pave the streets
Our feet will tread on…

(cf. Hebrews 13:5; 1 Timothy 6:10)


Soli Deo Gloria,
Shon

Walking While Black (Death In a Florida Suburb)

This is 2012, not 1962
But you’d be hard pressed to believe that
After hearin’ what it’s come to;
Walking while black
Meets unwarranted frustrations
Masquerading as vigilance
And shaking us to the roots as a nation

Old wounds run deep
Hatred ain’t sacred – it sees no color
Having Obama in office,
You may think would make it calmer
But unless you’ve been asleep
You know that it’s still very possible
To die for being a “brotha”
Skittles in tote, talking to your girl
In the cool of a Florida day
Then an SUV pulls up hot
‘Cause you ain’t gettin’ away with it…no doubt
One to the chest
Young life, snuffed out…

Now, you don’t have to be in the ‘hood
To have your peace disturbed
This ain’t Compton or Dade County
This is straight outta the suburbs
You heard me?!
Justice system failin’ ‘em
Freed the guy for nailin’ ‘em
Showed a blatant disregard to protect and serve
And label the victim as the assailant
It feels like a long time since
The days of civil rights and Jim Crow
It seems a million miles away
But we still have a long way to go

By that, I mean it’s too easy to point to the past
And make “White America” hold the ledger
Hey, the first time I was called a “nigga”
It rolled off the tongue of a six year old Latina –
So I know better

This ain’t about black and white
This thing is life on life
Good v. Evil, and death stealin’ youth
Like a thief in the night
So if you feel like I do
And you’re lookin’ for a fight
Then turn your anger inward
And rage against the dying of the light
Fight the good fight
Don’t let your hearts grow dimmer
“Street Justice” accomplishes nothin’
(Just another coward pullin’ the trigger)
Believe me, there will come a day
When recompense is made
And God don’t sleep
So I rest assured in justice
Never holding on to hate
Love has gotta be stronger than our fear
That there’s no end in sight
So, even amidst the travesty
That we all now bemoan
I know that this too shall be made right


For Trayvon Martin.


"And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place..."  

- (Acts 17:26 ESV)

"Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body."  - 

(Hebrews 13:3 ESV)

Soli Deo Gloria,

Shon

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