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400 Years a slave
Plus this 12 I’ve been in here
This Black man’s genes is
Captivity and Oppression
In my neighborhood
The Police uses tactics of
Suppression
To quash our dreams of
Inclusion

And seeing the world…

They circle the block
Cop after cop
Shift after shift
As if,
They were protecting the world
From us…
If we step outside of
The boundaries
We get asked
“Where are you going?”
“None of your business,” leads to
Us getting the ‘business’
We get brutalized by
‘Blue’ guys
Who we pay to protect
Our lives
But,
Their agenda is to
Turn us into offenders…

“What’s in your pocket?”
“Nothing!”
All of a sudden ‘he’ telling his partner
“Cuff ‘em.”
“What I do?”
Smile … “These drugs are yours!”
If we resist
They empty the clip!
How profound is this…?

R.I.P. George Floyd

Disclaimer: The views in this article are those of the author. Prison Journalism Project has verified the writer’s identity and basic facts such as the names of institutions mentioned.

Kory “Hussain” McClary is a writer incarcerated in New Jersey who enjoys writing short story fiction. His writings can also be found at his personal blog korymcclary.com.