"“I got involved ‘cause friends … you know … seeing the fancy clothes, and—and—and everything. They come to school with the nice gym shoes on, you know. You know, I—I—I wanted that.”
I’m from where the
Murder rate is disturbing but no curbing the crime
Time and time again you’ll find the swine has a purpose but trying
To protect and serve—ain’t the one you see ‘em doing
Hear the pistol fire and it’s likely them that’s shooting
Ain’t no policing the police, but at least we all know it
And ain’t no dreaming in the streets about being a poet
We owe it all to public schools where the rules is to show it
That you know the answers to the test but unless it’s an oval
That we filling in, then the feeling is like swimming and drowning
And Black is Black. We don’t distinguish from cinnamon, brown and
Mahogany, onyx and all of it’s chronic so we swallowing tonic
And wallowing all in it…see I find it ironic
That this is iconic. It’s marketed, so you want it, and I sell with promise
And I can guarantee—
He’s got a bullet and a badge and took an oath to protect and to serve, but just a look
And he’s scared of me
And I’m aware that he is, but I wonder are you
And they ain’t asking you to freeze ‘fore they open and shoot
I know you think “He got degrees,” but I’m hopeless as you
A nigga with a PhD’s still a nigga when blue lights flash and I match the description
Ain’t no explaining that
Ain’t no amount of philosophy spit negating that
Can’t quote a book and then hope you out
If he’s got a badge and he believes that he can choke you out
Hands up; stand up, and they shooting you down
So keep your eyes on your mirror when you cruise through your town
I’m from where the boys in blue don’t play
Cough up a lung where I’m from—USA…
DeRay McKesson: “And remember the people who have been violent since August have been the police. When you think about the 300 people that have been killed this year alone, like, that is violence. There’s been property damage here and it’s been really unfortunate over the past couple—for a day or so here but remember there have been many days of peaceful protest here in Baltimore City and in places all around the country.”
Wolf Blitzer: “But at least 15 police officers have been hurt, uh, 200 arrests, 144 vehicle fires – these are statistics. Local police have put out 15 structure fires. There’s no excuse for that kind of violence, right?”
McKesson: “Yeah, and there’s no excuse for the seven people that the Baltimore City Police Department has killed in the past year, either, right?”
Blitzer: “We’re not making comparisons. Obviously, we don’t want anybody hurt, but I just wanna hear you say that there should be peaceful protest, not violent protest, in the tradition of Dr. Martin Luther King.”
McKesson: “Yeah, there should be peaceful protest. And I—I don’t have to condone it to understand it, right? The pain the people feel is real. And you are making a comparison. You are suggesting this idea that broken windows, um, are worse than broken spines. And what we know to be true is that the police are killing people everywhere. They’re killing people here. Six police officers were involved in the killing of Freddie Gray, and we’re looking for justice there … um, and that’s real, right? The violence the police have been inflicting on communities of color has been sustained and deep.”
Blitzer: “But you agree, I assume, with President Obama, who just said a few moments ago there’s no excuse for the violence that erupted yesterday. There’s no excuse for the stealing, no excuse for the arson. You agree with the president …”
McKesson: “What I agree with is that I advocate people to peacefully protest. I also know that pain manifests in different ways, and I don’t—again—I don’t have to condone it to understand it. People are grieving and people are mourning. Um, and I would advocate, personally, for people to do it in ways that you are calling peacefully. But then I also know that Freddie Gray will never be back, and that those windows will be.”
Blitzer: “The, uh, the president also said—President Obama—he said the violence, he said, distracted from the, uh, peaceful protests; it distracted from the mourning that the family of Freddie Gray was seeking yesterday. Your reaction to that …”
McKesson: “You know, distracted from progress is when city officials get on TV and call Black people in pain “thugs,” right? That’s a distraction. Um, so, you know, I think that the unrest, the uprising, whatever you call it, is, again, a cry for justice here, and a cry for justice across the country because the police continue to terrorize people. And, again, the terrorizing is actually deadly. Broken windows are not broken spines. Uh, people are in pain, so—so I think that the president, uh, I hope that he understands the—the conditions that created the unrest and that continue the unrest, not only here in Baltimore, but across the country … because Freddie Gray will never see another day, and neither will Tamir or Aiyana or Mike Brown.”"
