by Rev. Reynard Blake, Jr.
“I may not kill but I am armed to deconstruct bullshit.”
I am Micah
by Rev. Reynard Blake, Jr.
I may not have killed Dallas Police officers
But there’s a Micah X. Johnson in me
I have rage
A “Bigger Thomas” rage
A John Brown rage
A Malcolm X rage
I want to eliminate abominations
White supremacy
Black hopelessness
Sometimes I want to speak in the only language the white man seems to understand
VIOLENCE
Isn’t that why the NRA exists?
Express yourself with bullets?
There’s a Micah X. Johnson in me
He armed himself to the teeth
Bomb-making materials, vests, rifles and ammo
I arm myself—nonviolently
I read
From Cone to Cornel to Coates to Dyson to DuBois
From hooks to Hurston to Malveaux to Morrison
From Black Enterprise to Boyce Watkins to Black Agenda Report
And on, and on, and on
I listen to countless thinkers
I may not kill but I am armed to deconstruct bullshit
Like when Guliani or anyone in the GOP denigrates Black Lives Matter
From Blue Pill/Red Pill to Carnell to Griff to Black Dot to ZaZa to Tariq Nasheed
I sharpen my mind
I may not kill but I am armed to deconstruct bullshit
Like when Guliani or anyone in the GOP denigrates Black Lives Matter
Like when black people blindly support Hillary Clinton even after her “Super predator” comment
Yes, there’s a Micah X. Johnson in me
Angry
However, I disagree with his methodology to address white supremacy
Killing solves little
Nevertheless, I understand the rage that makes one pick up a gun
But, picking up a gun is easy
Too easy in America
And, that’s the problem
Reverend Reynard N. Blake, Jr., M. S. is an ordained Baptist minister living in East Lansing, Michigan with his wife Karen Kelly-Blake, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Center for Ethics and Humanities in the Life Sciences at Michigan State University (MSU). He earned his Master of Science degree in Community Development-Urban Studies from MSU and a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the College of Charleston (SC). He has authored and co-authored several articles on faith-based community development and is also a poet, essayist, and social critic. His work has appeared on Black Commentator, Michigan Family Review, Op-ED.com, the Online Journal of Urban Youth Culture and Black Agenda Report. He is putting on the final touches on a book of political parody and poetry; no publisher yet. He would appreciate any input on where and how he can get it published. He can be reached atreynardblakejr@yahoo.com.
A 1975 “Declaration Against Imperialism” provides a blueprint for the anti-imperialist Black Studies of the future.
Tensions increase in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
"Genocidal Joseph’s coat of many logos or Boss Tweet’s swastika sensibilities?" is the latest from BAR's Poet-in-Residence.
In the U.S., a nation built on the enslavement and exploitation of humans, the system of slavery cannot be destroyed. It has merely changed from one form to another.
Cedric Robinson's Black Marxism can be used as a tool to further expand our understanding of Israel's settler colonial domination over Palestine.
