Today by Joseph Hammond, Jr. ‘22

American History by Eric Anders ‘22

the chilling bones of the black bodies slaughtered at the hands of the Confederates whisper from the abyss of the fear i face.

the melting palms of my hands bleed angst as i pull over, roll down the portal of doom, and smell the angel of anguish who says the words:

"License and registration.”

Today

by Joseph Hammond, Jr. ‘22

A Dream. Thoughts of a peaceful world. At least that is what Dr. King had hopes of.

Today’s world though, far from it. People of my skin color gamble with life, every single time, We leave their house.

All is good though, right? Because we can sit where we want on the bus? Because I can eat whilst being surrounded by people who don’t wear the same skin as me? Because I don’t have to walk an extra mile to use a bathroom designated to people like me? Equality, right? No.

Why do we, Have to suffer?

Did Kaepernick take a knee just so Chauvin could put one into the neck of George Floyd?

Did we run for years just so Ahmaud Arbery could be chased down?

Is this what equality is to you? I hope not. Then again, we have been hoping for years.

Gratitude

It takes many hands for a book like this to come to life. We are grateful to Dr. Stephen Szolosi, whose idea of a SLAM Racism Poetry Reading two years ago began the effort, of which this book is the second volume. We are grateful to Dr. Harry Rissetto of the Religion Department who suggested we compile the poems from the second SLAM Racism Poetry Reading into a book. He also saw Kai Jones drawing one day and suggested we had a terrific artist in our midst. We are also grateful to Mr. Ed Donnellan of the Social Studies Department for all his work on the Slavery Research Project and for making sure our historical references are accurate. We are grateful to Ms. Shannon Berry, whose wise and timely counsel helps all our poets. We are deeply grateful to the poets whose words fill these pages. They find words for what matters. Finally, we are grateful to you, reader. Thank you for picking up this book, reading it, sharing it, and taking time with these words.