Black Agenda Report
Black Agenda Report
News, commentary and analysis from the black left.

  • Home
  • Africa
  • African America
  • Education
  • Environment
  • International
  • Media and Culture
  • Political Economy
  • Radio
  • US Politics
  • War and Empire

They
Bill Quigley
20 Aug 2008
🖨️ Print Article

7_foot_poet_upright_250wideby Kemet Mawakana, a.k.a. the Seven Foot Poet

How many times have we heard that "they" control your hood, your head and sometimes your heart, to hear some tell it.  You know "how they do us", right?"  The Seven Foot Poet wants you to ask the next question. 

Just who are "They"?  

“THEY”

The audio for this poem is temporarily unavailable.

 

“Aberrant behavior is shaped by its consequences”

 

The mysterious “they” are everywhere

“they” did that to me

“they” did this to them

“they” did that too

“they” hurt my family and friends

 

“they” are going to get theirs

“they” better get back

“they” allowed it to happen

“they” strategically set up that

 

“they” thrive and continue to hide

When you refer to them as “they”

“they” lose effectiveness and get more resistance

When “they” is stripped away

 

Name the names

Tell me the addresses

Show me their pictures

I want their parents’ and their children’s identities too

I want “they” to consider immediate retribution upon them and their loved ones

Before “they” do what “they” do

Then “they” will reconsider

Sick the paparazzi on the board members

Publish the policy makers

Advertise the advisors

Broadcast the manipulators

Don’t show me reality shows that could hardly be any faker

Because it is consequences that shape behavior.

 

By Kemit Mawakana (aka The Seven-Foot Poet)

 

Peace (when appropriate) War (when necessary)

 
 

Copyright 2008.

 

Kemet Mawakana (aka “The Seven-Foot Poet”) is a highly acclaimed spoken-word artist, and has published two books A . . . Z . . . Infinity and Crucifixion of My Soul. The collective body of his works presented weekly in BAR are in tribute to Listervelt Middleton, Dr. John Henrik Clarke, and “For The People”. Currently, he is a facilitator at AYA Educational Institute (www.ayaed.com) and can be reached at sevenfootpoet@gmail.com.

Do you need and appreciate Black Agenda Report articles? Please click on the DONATE icon, and help us out, if you can.


More Stories


  • Jon Jeter
    Landless and Poor, Black South Africans Say they will Defy Trump and Move Ahead, Finally, with Land Reform
    12 Feb 2025
    A torrent of false and racist claims culminated in a presidential executive order suspending any aid to South Africa. Donald Trump is attempting to stand in the way of its land reform process.
  • Anthony Karefa Rogers-Wright
    While Trump Waves a Flag of white “Supremacy,” Democrats are Waving a White Flag of Surrender
    12 Feb 2025
    Donald Trump began his presidency with an onslaught of executive actions meant to dismantle those governmental agencies that offer any lifeline for Black, Brown, Indigenous, and poor white…
  • Iker Suarez
    Mass Deportation as Ethnic Cleansing: on the Ongoing War
    12 Feb 2025
    The United States is a colonial empire, repressing and exploiting colonized peoples domestically and internationally. Mass deportations are a function of ethnic cleansing and a continuation of U.S.…
  • Black Alliance For Peace
    Black Alliance for Peace Condemns Trump’s Declaration of War on Palestine
    12 Feb 2025
    Donald Trump's recent statements claiming U.S. ownership of Gaza are the latest iteration of U.S. bipartisan imperialist policy. 
  • Jake Johnston
    Where Does the Money Go? A Look at USAID Spending in Haiti
    12 Feb 2025
    The Trump administration is dismantling USAID, intending to absorb its mission into the State Department. USAID's engagement with Haiti demonstrates the insidious nature of the agency and how…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us