There is a special burden that goes with being "the first", or "the only", or "one of the few" black faces in a workplace, school or professional situation. Jackie Robinson was neither the first nor the last to bear this load. The Seven Foot Poet speaks to those who bear this load.
I HATE BEING JACKIE ROBINSON
(Dedicated to the brothers and sisters competing in America’s rat race.)
Click the flash player below to hear the Seven Foot Poet perform this original work.
{mp3}poetry/090_7ft_jackie-robinson{/mp3}
I Hate Being Jackie Robinson
Being the only one
Being the first one.
You look at me with envy.
I look in the mirror and shun.
Monday thru Friday
Though no one yells slurs
Or
Explicitly threatens to terminate my existence on this earth
It hurts being Jackie Robinson.
Make no mistake
Even if my teammates are great
Championship caliber
They still can’t really relate
To my fate.
I hate being Jackie Robinson.
Material goods badly compensate
For torment endured
By me the lonely baobab tree
In a forest of timber wood and evergreens.
Being Jackie Robinson is no fun.
And I ain’t even half of him.
So don’t congratulate me on how well I’ve done
Because over the cheers of the fans – I hear my soul booing.
I hate being Jackie Robinson.
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.
“...when I talk about our political institutions, there is no reason for any American to continue to be victimized by what we still refer to as the Republican and Democratic parties…We don’t have to…
In commemoration of the Fidel Castro centenary on August 13, 2026, we present remarks given by Djibo Sobukwe at The Symposium on Fidel Castro and the Cuban Revolution on January 21, 2017,…
Former Black Panther Deputy Minister of Defense Byron Booth's journey from Compton to Cuba, Algiers to Lagos, reveals the global reach of Black radicalism in a 2016 interview.
The U.S. is not shy about proclaiming its control of Venezuela and its resources.
From boots on the ground to battles for the mind, an examination of the Pentagon's new psychological operations unit illustrates Washington's bid to reclaim influence in Africa.
