Speaking Up for Brother Troy Anthony Davis and all victims of Amerikkkan Just-US

p (photo credit: span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="Tiburcio" data-scaytid="1"Tiburcio/span Garcia-Gray)/p p style="margin: 0px; font: 12px times new roman" We were all standing there in line at the span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="po'lice" data-scaytid="3"po#39;lice/spannbsp;station in different states of hegemony ndash; some of us bought in to the lie of security and span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="po’lice" data-scaytid="9"porsquo;lice/span, believing we had ldquo;done wrongrdquo; or span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="“f-ed" data-scaytid="11"ldquo;f-ed/span uprdquo; and some of us not. It was Wednesday, September 21supst/sup, the day of the state sponsored murder of Troy Anthony Davis and there werenbsp; easily 210 of us standing in a line snaking out of the building. We were in the Cop span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="sto’" data-scaytid="13"storsquo;/span the span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="Po’Lice" data-scaytid="15"Porsquo;Lice/span Bank, the building known simply as ldquo;850 Bryantrdquo;. Uniforms rushed past us with relaxed authority. This was their place, we were just waiting in it.nbsp;/p p style="margin: 0px; min-height: 15px; font: 12px times new roman" nbsp;/p p style="margin: 0px; font: 12px times new roman" For traffic tickets to felonyrsquo;s this is your building, this is your nightmare. In the last six months since budget cuts have cut deeper wounds in societies collective flesh, yet more cops roam the streets issuing more tickets, the line for traffic tickets outside room 145 at 850 Bryantnbsp; has begun to expand like a python ready to strike, like an un-checked levy after a storm. The people are piling up and the workers to help them diminishing./p p style="margin: 0px; min-height: 15px; font: 12px times new roman" nbsp;/p p style="margin: 0px; font: 12px times new roman" I was there standing in that line. I was rocking my hand-made, life-size, span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="“Yo" data-scaytid="17"ldquo;Yo/span Soy Troy Davis hellip; I am Troy Davis shirt/body patch. It was 11:00 am and I was tweeting, calling, petition signing, and calling again. And then I remembered, I had a voice, maybe thatrsquo;s all I had, but I had a voice and I could speak up andnbsp; then..../p p style="margin: 0px; min-height: 15px; font: 12px times new roman" nbsp;/p p style="margin: 0px; font: 12px times new roman" Excuse me, can i get everyone#39;s attention..... I waited until the halls were clear of span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="po'lice" data-scaytid="5"po#39;lice/span and the only sound you heard was thenbsp; silent tapping of fingernails to touch screens and then I did it. I stepped outside of excepted norms of behavior. All those unseen, unsaid demands on speech and when is ok to speak up, They are about to execute an innocent man in Georgia in less than 5 hours, and you all can do something about it, right now, from right here... I went on to explain a little background about the case of brother Troy and fact that 7 out of 9 witnesses recanted their testimonies, how so many people, including several span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="politricksters" data-scaytid="19"politricksters/span in power have stood up to say this is wrong./p p style="margin: 0px; min-height: 15px; font: 12px times new roman" nbsp;/p p style="margin: 0px; font: 12px times new roman" I have the number on my phone that you all can call, i have the link to the petition that you can sign, please consider it, we aren#39;t doing anything else for at least the next hour, right? nbsp;/p p style="margin: 0px; min-height: 15px; font: 12px times new roman" nbsp;/p p style="margin: 0px; font: 12px times new roman" And then it was over. I finished speaking and people looked away. They continued ticking on their meta-keyboards, and looking at their nails, and reading their papers, and looking at their feet. And it was if i have never said anything. Or was it?/p p style="margin: 0px; min-height: 15px; font: 12px times new roman" nbsp;/p p style="margin: 0px; font: 12px times new roman" My brother, span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="Muteado" data-scaytid="21"Muteado/span span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="Silencio" data-scaytid="23"Silencio/span, in our POOR Magazine family of poverty scholars and reporters told me he did a similar thing on the evening of the span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="SCOMM" data-scaytid="25"SCOMM/span threat of deportation his family had just had to deal with in Oakland./p p style="margin: 0px; min-height: 15px; font: 12px times new roman" nbsp;/p p style="margin: 0px; font: 12px times new roman" I looked around, it was a crowded BART train and no one was saying anything or doing anything. We were all just standing there. I knew no-one else would say anything so i decided to speak up, I busted out with my poem about the span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="criminalization" data-scaytid="27"criminalization/span of immigrants,/p p style="margin: 0px; font: 12px times new roman" He said that when he was finished with the piece,nbsp; no-one said anything, but the air was heavy with his words./p p style="margin: 0px; min-height: 15px; font: 12px times new roman" nbsp;/p p style="margin: 0px; font: 12px times new roman" As i write this piece my heart is heavy with the deep loss of a powerful spirit like brother Troy Anthony Davis. I gaze at his humble image, now a part of our POOR Magazine altar for all fallen victims of span class="scayt-misspell" data-scayt_word="po'lice" data-scaytid="7"po#39;lice/span terror, plantation systems, racism and poverty and i cry./p p style="margin: 0px; min-height: 15px; font: 12px times new roman" nbsp;/p p style="margin: 0px; font: 12px times new roman" Wenbsp; grieved yesterday and held a inter-tribal prayer ceremony in POOR#39;s family, holding the grief of all our lost and stolen brothers and sisters. We didn#39;t move on. We did no work./p p style="margin: 0px; min-height: 15px; font: 12px times new roman" nbsp;/p p style="margin: 0px; font: 12px times new roman" Some organizers and conscious folks talk about moving on and doing the work. But wenbsp;/p p style="margin: 0px; font: 12px times new roman" as indigenous peoples from many nations at POOR Magazine, will not move on, we will hold this grief in our collective hearts and souls and act daily to re-port and sup-port on not only the movements of change but the movements of no change.nbsp;/p p style="margin: 0px; min-height: 15px; font: 12px times new roman" nbsp;/p p style="margin: 0px; font: 12px times new roman" We will continue to speak up in places we are not supposed to about things we are not supposed to even mention and we will make art and cultural work about things and people that never get art made about them and we will work daily to make sure that all silenced, removed, deported, lynched, incarcerated, criminalized, harassed and abused peoples are heard and loved and remembered and we hope you all do the same. even when its uncomfortable for you to do so./p