“Negros — sweet and docile.
Meek, humble and kind.
Beware the day
They change their mind.”
Langston Hughes
Comrades,
The trumpet of revolution is blown.
Throughout our nation, our brothers and sisters, have begun the long bloody journey towards the liberation of Black people. They changed their mind. The revolution is not on its way, it is not warming up, no — the revolution is here.
To all of us, this is no surprise, for we have been paying attention far too long. Our bodies destroyed for too long. Our children murdered from us for too long. Our parents incarcerated for far too long. Our people shackled too long. Revolution too long awaited.
We marched, sat-in, created hashtags, kneeled, ran marathons, sang, dance, wrote — and this nation didn’t change — well now it has come time for rebellion and revolution. Organized rebellion for the liberation of Black people from the grip of white supremacy.
By any means necessary.
There are segments of this nation, who believe our only place is in service to them or dead, and so rebellion comes for them today. There are many who believe — that by silencing us, murdering us, withholding justice from us — that we would disappear. Well, let me be perfectly clear: For a people who built this nation for free, we will burn it all down, before we regress any further back.
We stand on the shoulders of giant freedom fighters — and today we honor the sacrifices they made — now we take their mantle and root this hatred out once and for all. My friends, the president of the United States has committed to shooting us down in the streets if we continue to rebel.
So be it.
This nation has been at war with Black folks since its inception — thus far, it has won, because it fights with unfair rules, guns, and destruction — we’ve been meek and docile too long. We tried their way and it didn’t work. So, by any means necessary — our children will never live in an unjust society — we will have the liberation of Black people.
Some of us will not make it, our blood used to consecrate this new America, but let it not be in vain. Let us continue to march and fight — but let us not forget to teach and train — for if we lose our lives in the cause, let our tenacious children rise even stronger.
On the other side of white supremacy — on the side of justice — there are many fingerprints. We all play a part in building this nation over — so find your spot — and get to work. If you can’t march, organize donation drives to support anyone taken into custody. Someone has to film and photograph. Someone has to write about it and bear witness. Someone has to hand our water, PPE, first aid. Some will have to use their bodies as shields. Some will drive the caravans of justice around the nation. Some will have to write the policy. Some will have to host the shows. None will be allowed to be on the sidelines.
We all will have a part of this revolution.
Decades ago, republicans and racists alike, would pick up the call for “Law & Order.” They gathered and galvanized — fought and organized — implored the southern strategy and changed the course of this nation. Then came the Reagan revolution and the new conservative movement — the one responsible for a lot of our current problems. They created the images of Black personhood that are responsible for a lot of the destruction we see today. George H.W. Bush started his strategy before even becoming president (Willie Horton.)
My point is, for generations, they have prepared for this current fight. They’ve made us out to be the villains in their nightmares of mediocrity. Casting their ills on us, makes it easier for them to sleep at night, and for this revolution to come. The failures of this nation will no longer land on us — the people who built and sustain this stolen land — but instead the wrongdoers, those with positional power, will be held fully accountable.
Friends. By any means necessary we will have justice and the liberation of Black people. Until then, they shall never no peace again.
A new day is on the horizon.
