The Murder That Never Should’ve Happened: Emmitt Till
He whistled at me. He said “I’ve been with a white woman before. That black boy grabbed me and
threatened my life inside my husbands store. Those were the words Carolyn Bryant used during the trail of the murder of Emmitt Till. Till was just a 14-year-old black boy with his whole life ahead of him, however Till would be kidnapped, beaten, shot, and then thrown in the Tallahatchie River in August 1955, just days after Carolyn Bryant claimed Till made a move on her, the wife of a Mississippi store owner Roy Bryant.
Roy Bryant , and his half brother J.W. Milan, would later be charged with the murder of Emmitt Till.
Despite there being tons of evidence, that led directly to the two white men murdering the young boy, the two would be acquitted of all charges. While on trial Bryant’s testimony was filled with emotion that would never be heard by the jury because the judge stated it was irrelevant . During the funeral Till’s mother chose to leave the casket open, so that the world could see her son’s mutilated face. The images got out across the
John W. Milam, Roy Bryant, Carolyn Bryant Image by: AP
nation, which led to the Civil Rights Movement.
Last month it was confirmed that Carolyn Bryant did indeed lie on Emmitt Till which ultimately caused
him to be murdered. In author Timothy Tyson’s book “The Blood of Emmitt Till” Bryant made the statement “that nothing that boy did could ever justify what happened to him.” Bryant whose last name is now Donham whereabouts are currently unknown, but Till’s death will forever be apart of black history.
During an interview Till’s mother would describe what she saw when she saw her sons face. “His
tongue was lying down on his chin, his right eye hung out of its socket halfway down his cheek, I looked at the left eye and it was gone, I looked at the bridge of his nose and it like someone had taken a meat chopper and chopped it, and I looked at his teeth because I took pride in his teeth because his teeth were the prettiest I’d even seen so I thought, but there were only two there. Lastly, I noticed that they had taken a axe and went down the middle of his head because the face and the back of the head were separate.”
July 25, 1941 - August 28, 1955
By Julian D. Edwards
upnextmagazine.com | 6 | FEBRUARY 2017
upnextmagazine.com | 7 | FEBRUARY 2017
BLAC K HISTORY | SARAH RECTOR
Who wants to be a “Black” millionaire? Sarah Rector (1902-1967)
By Julian D. Edwards
It’s the year 1902, March the 3rd to be exact. On this day Sarah Rector would be born on Indian Territory in Taft, Oklahoma. In 1913, at just the age of 11 Sarah was given a large allotment of land just like others in the Creek Nation. This was common amongst thousands of blacks who were once held captive by the Five slave holding tribes including (Creek,Chickasaw,Choctaw,Cherokee,and Seminole Nations). They were offered the land because it was of little value even suitable for farming. That changed however when word got out that the land belonging to Sarah was rich with oil. News quickly spread of Sarah’s land and whites made it there business to try and gain control of Sarah. White businessman took control of her estate. A petition was also created to declare her as being a rich white woman. If it had passed it would have been the first time in history that an African American woman had been made white by law. It was almost as if history had repeat itself. For example, when the great Fredrick Douglas began showing how intelligent he was along with being a established statesman whites then wanted to claim him as white. As Sarah’s life continued she began receiving love letters asking for her hand in marriage not because of her looks, but for shares of the wealth she had consumed while just being a child. Sarah Rector was known in the state of Oklahoma as the youngest and wealthiest colored girl in the world. She owned 160 acres of land, 2 wells which poured in over 3800 barrels a day. An article was published by The Chicago Defender in 1914, stating that her family was mishandling her money, she was uneducated, and her living conditions were unsanitary. All those claims were of course false. In 1920 she and her family moved to Kansas City, Missouri where she now owned stocks,a boarding house, even a bakery by the name of Busy Bee in Muskogee, Oklahoma. From that point forward she was known as Sarah Rector “The Millionaire”
upnextmagazine.com | 8 | FEBRUARY 2017
Welcome to HTDOGWTR: Home of Never 2 Fly 2 Pray & JeffreyLee Feather
Jalysa (Lady) Remedy
Phoenix in the white outfit Chelly in the back outfit Outfits designed by Tasheema
upnextmagazine.com | 17 | FEBRUARY 2017
Michael “Macho” Laracuente
Michael MACHO laracuente
M
icheal “Macho” Laracuente remember his name because the next time you hear it, he will be Philly’s next best boxer. Macho followed in his father’s footsteps. His father used to fight in Puerto Rico so of course he decided to show Macho a couple of things. He started boxing around the age of seven, “I fell in love with the sport as soon as I hit the gym, it was an amazing feeling honestly, a feeling I never had.” Growing up he used to watch Hector “Macho” Camacho, Oscar de la Hoya, Mike Tyson and Philly’s own Bryant Jennings. “They gave me an idea of what I wanted to be in the future, a world champion.” At first training was hard for him, he was pretty big, training would last up to an hour and that lasted until he was 11 years old. At the age of 11 Macho had an extremely bad accident, were he was run over by a truck. His legs were literally under the trucks wheels, at that moment he thought it was over. He thought that boxing would never happen for him. He spent his birthday, Thanksgiving, Christmas, pretty much every holiday in a hospital. The doctors gave him bad news saying that he would have to have his legs amputated and that his boxing career was over. But his parents said no. The moment they heard that they got down on their knees and prayed, every day and every night. Until one day the doctors decided to give it another chance and with the help of GOD the next week blood started to flow through his legs. Macho had over 19 surgeries that month alone, after all the surgeries he was released from the hospital. He started to feel depressed and angry that his dreams were nearly over. However, he and his family continued to pray. After a week, he started to visit the gym. At that moment, he realized that his battle was far from over and all he needed was a little motivation. “I went and got motivated after I left I prayed every single night, God gave me a second chance”. The next week, he started to feel strength in his legs, he could stand for two seconds at the most and fall but he did not stop there. “My motivation to keep going were my parents, my parents would cry from seeing me in the wheel chair, I would practice getting up 4 times a day every week, for about a month”. From his motivation and his parents praying for him, he was finally able to stand with the help of crutches, he was blessed. His legs still get swollen to this day. Macho is still a up and coming amateur boxer with just a couple of fights in who is working on getting to the professional level. He talked to some of the greats of this time such as Oscar de la Hoya and Danny Garcia who he happens to know on a personal level. Years have passed and Macho is doing much better since the accident, he has never given up. Prayer is a powerful tool if you believe and that’s how Macho and his family made it through that trying time and how they continue to make it through. UN: I see that you trained with John a.k.a Jizz, how was that? M: Yeah, I went back into the gym and worked with him for about a year, it was cool. UN: Do you have what it takes to be UP NEXT in the world of boxing? M: I think I have everything it takes to become a world champion! I’m a warrior, I never back down and I always put on a great show. UN: What type of fighter are you? M: I’m the type of fighter that brings the fight to the ring. I like being the first punch and the last punch, I’m very smart and I take my time. UN: How was your first fight in the ring? M: My first fight I was pretty young, around 9 or 10. It was crazy, I was nervous but ready I went in there and put on a crazy show as many has said. I remember till this day I was just throwing punches back and forth, the fight ended up being a draw. UN: What is a typical training day like with you? M: It’s usually around 2-3 hours long, depending on what we do, strength and conditioning, boxing, etc. He gives his thank you’s to his loved ones, supporters, and everyone that is scared to continue to chase their dreams because of an accident, depression or whatever. Just get up and work bit by bit. Thank you to everyone who reads this, I love you all and God Bless. “ITS MACHO TIME!”
“I fell in love with the sport as soon as I hit the gym, it was an amazing feeling honestly, a feeling I never had.�- Macho
Welcome to FIBA also known as the International Basketball Federation it’s the world outside the NBA where playing professionally can begin at 15 years of age. Where most fifteen year olds in the United States are worried about Geometry across the world they are playing for League Championships and a spot on the national teams. Meet Mike Green born and bred here in the old US of A but developing his game in a major way overseas. Don’t sleep on FIBA it has produced such standouts as Tony Parker, Dirk Nowitzki and former players such as Vlade Divac and more. Every four years we get to see the talent that FIBA has to offer in the summer Olympic games but here at Up Next Magazine we didn’t want to wait till 2020 to peek behind the curtain of international basketball so we sat down with Mike Green. By Derrick Jackson
upnextmagazine.com | 27 | FEBRUARY 2017
DJ: Ok so I know the story but for those who don’t our readers how did you get into producing? Frizz: Music is in my blood, like most of us I was brought up in church and you know how that important that is my grandma was a big gospel artist DJ: Around what age did you start producing? And what equipment did you use? Frizz: A tritan keyboard bro, I still remember it like it was yesterday DJ: How did you and Stevie link up Frizz: I sold my very first beat to Stone, the homie Artie J from around the way hipped to me he was looking for beats my name came up and I sold him a beat we went into the studio the very next day and we’ve been down like that since that was like 2006 or 07 DJ: Was he with Tech N9ne at this point already? Frizz: He was actually with Ruthless Records at this time, it was like 2 year he was on Ruthless but it didn’t really work out then the Strange Music situation came through, Stone opened up for Tech one night it just so happened to be the night a very important investor was in the building it was the guy who really helped Tech out to really launch Strange into what it’s into now DJ: So y’all in the studio right now? Frizz: Yea working on the new album Summer 17 but I can’t reveal the title yet but I can tell you we going back on tour in the spring DJ: How long is this tour gonna be I know the Malta Bend tour was huge a nationwide success Frizz: Yea we going back out with Tech 68 cities in 74 days DJ: Any international stops on the tour or is it just here in the states
When you listen to your favorite artist’s music you are listening to a full body of work that was
Frizz: In the U.S. only but it’s gonna be lit bro DJ: If you had to give advice to an up and coming producer what would you tell them? Frizz: Learn the business end first and don’t be afraid to take risks, be different
crafted as a union between the artist sometimes a writer and the producer. Often producers can be
DJ: How does your family feel about everything you have going on and your success Frizz: They love what I’m doing they are a huge support system my pops knew I was gonna be successful from the start my mom was honestly a bit skeptical but she came around
overshadowed by the artists because lets face it we don’t care who prepares the meal just who hands
DJ: Do you have a career benchmark yet? Frizz: Yea I produced a track that George Clinton got on?
it to us. For Jeff James II this doesn’t seem to be anything he should worry about he has a very strong
DJ: Word, did you get to be in the studio when he laid his vocals? Frizz: Nah he was in Germany we sent him the track but I was still on top of the world. DJ: Man crazy to see especially since we go back a way
bond with Midwest artist Stevie Stone. Frizz shares the stage with Stevie every single night on tour
they have formed a brotherhood unlike no other. Loyalty is nothing new to Jeff, I met Frizz back in
2002 while in college and he has been the definition of a stand up dude from day one.
Frizz: Man I’m proud of everybody in the crew “County Boys” all of us doing something they were with me from the start whether it was a ride to the studio if I needed to get there or a burger when I was broke, the homies into photography, construction you name it we got people in the ministry everything DJ: Dream collabs? You got any? Frizz: Missy Elliot she’s so vibrant so energetic not afraid to try different stuff you know, and Busta Rhymes for sure DJ: Alright bro thanks for taking time out congrats on everything Frizz: Always baby! By Derrick Jackson
Her company has been up and running for about two and a half months. She was inspired to start this
company because she had a passion for helping others see their dreams and visions come to life! Her passion for modeling kicked in July 2016. She was inspired to model ever since she was a little girl. She has never been in a runway or fashion show but she would love to attend one eventually. She has many other creative talents, such as: designing apparel, singing, dancing, writing poetry (Excellent poetry) and she can style hair. She also attended Paul Mitchell’s Hair Academy in Wilson, NC to sharpen her skills for the industry. Her name is Ebony Tyson. She is from Nashville, NC. She has a promotional company called: “Red Dragon Promotions.” She offers promotional packages for Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
She gives wonderful advice for those who aspire to model too: “My advice to any up and coming model
is follow your dream, that you get out what you put in...And dreams do become reality... Just remain humble and positive...”
If she could change one thing about the modeling industry it would be that they wouldn’t put a limit on
modeling based on a persons’ size, because all sizes are beautiful. She also goes on to share that she would be thrilled to work with any Top Model. She is excited to model, but one of her main passions is her promotions company, so she is most focused on that project and all the doors that have opened up for her through that dream. Jalysa (Lady) Remedy
Comedy Coming Up From The South: Darren Brand aka “Big Baby”
UP NEXT: COMEDY
Darren Brand is a multi-faceted individual with great taste in style and comedy. He is from Southern Pines, NC. He was twenty-five years old when he realized that he wanted to be a comedian. A lot of people know him as “Big Baby” from the WildnOut cast season 7&8.He became be a boss, comedian, and host just through his everyday interactions. It kinda just happen. He really didn’t know you could make a living being a comedian and not have a huge name, but he had business partners in “nxlevel” who later inspired him to become an entrepreneur. He drove from Charlotte NC to NYC for his first 15 minute audition. He later recalls that his first time meeting NICK CANNON was at his second audition in NYC. His adventures continued with him recording live and some of his most memorable moments he had on WildnOut were smoking with Snoop Dogg , the hype vibes of the Travis Scott and Waka Flaka episodes. He has been busy making boss moves with hosting and and co-hosting homecoming step-shows, Women’s empowerment, Joking Off, and being the opening comic for Comedy Central. He found that audience love him on stage and he has performed stand up comedy all over the world. He does it full time now. It’s how he makes the majority of his living. When he isn’t on stage making money off his jokes and witty comical style he enjoys listening to all types of music. He shares that some of his favorite artists are Drake, Big Sean and Wayne. He gets to hang out and party with Music Artists, but when asked if he could party with any famous celebrity he joking replies that he would choose President Obama and his reason was “cause I know he turn up behind closed doors.” When asked If he could give advice to his 15 year old self he said he would “Start doing stand up now and take it serious.” In all his success he still has goals for himself. The two goals that he would like to accomplish in let’s say the next 5 to 7 months are to be apart of a theater or arena show of 2500 or more people. He is always pushing himself to achieve greater and when asked what was the hardest thing he had to do in his career he told us that it was when he quit 9-5. He jumped out there and started depending solely on his talent and it was scary but it had to be done. Jalysa (Lady) Remedy
Limah Beauty
Limah Beauty
The Great 8 | Barack Hussein Obama II I remember it like it was yesterday. We were in the student union of North Carolina A&T State University. My alma of course. The music was loud, food was delicious and we all just sat there with all types of emotions flowing through our bodies. As the final votes came in the music stopped, the chatter ceased, and all of our eyes were instantly glued to the projector. And the 44th president of the The United States is “Barack Obama”!!! When we heard that we all rejoiced and burst out of the student union doors onto the main strip of campus. We marched in the rain all the way to the Greensboro Four statue where the infamous African American students of NC A&T State University decided to sit downtown Greensboro in a white only restaurant and asked to be served. We marched there because we needed to pay homage to their bravery and courage and what better way to thank them than on the night where an African American man was announced as the next president. It was my first time voting at the age 19 and it was definitely worth the wait. November 4th, 2008 history was made and our lives would forever be changed. President Obama did the unbelievable. Not because he had over 66.7 million popular votes, or the fact that he had 365 electoral votes. No.
What he did was believe in his own abilities that were instilled in him from birth to adulthood. He realized that from the year 2000-2008 our country had suffered it’s greatest depression in de-
cades. He wanted to make change and bring America back to its glory days and for the next 8 years he would. In 2009, he was awarded the Noble Peace Prize, but he didn’t brag about it he accepted it and realized that more work needed to be done. March 23rd, 2010 the president launched the Affordable Care Act, a health care reform bill, into law that that would allow the middle and lower class citizens to have health care coverage at affordable rates. He would receive outrageous backlash for making that decision, but it worked and saved lives also. He didn’t just touch the lives of African Americans or make race the reason for him being in office. I say that because on August 31, 2010 President Obama addresses the nation from the Oval Office to officially mark the end of U.S. combat operations in Iraq. That was a major step forward for America because thousands of soldiers regardless of the color of their skin, would soon be able to return home to their families. Now by no means do I condone violence, but on May 1st, 2011 news broke out that none other than the Al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden the terrorist responsible for 9/11 had been killed. During that press conference President Obama brought not only relief, but hope for everyone that lost someone on that tragic day. President Obama served our country with pride and though it may sound cliché it’s simply the truth. When others made it about race he always proved why he was cut out for this line of work. Not to say that he wasn’t proud to be a black man, but he knew that he would not be able to lead this country with a biased heart,mind,body,nor soul. During his presidency of not one, but two terms President Obama overcame adversity, stayed true to his promises, and exemplified what it meat to represent America. Last month on January 20th his reign of “8 great years” came to an end. One of his last speeches that really hit home for me was when he said “let’s be vilogent and not afraid”. For eight year’s he had to be those two words and he wasn’t ashamed of it. Giving the “LGBT” community equal rights was another milestone of the Presidents. On June 26, 2015 the same sex marriage law was passed.I look back on these 8 year’s and I see a man who defeated all odds and not once did he show signs of weakness. With that being said I leave you with this: black history is not a month for African Americans to receive praise, but it is a time where all of those before President Obama and the ones that will come after are recognized for a job well done while fighting equality. My president is black, my lambo’s blue, President Barack Hussein Obama, yes indeed we will miss you! - Julian Edwards
basir evans
upnextmagazine.com | 41 | FEBRUARY 2017
UN: Do You Write Your Own Music? BE: Yes. UN: Where Do You Draw Inspiration from When You Write Your Songs and What’s Your Favorite Process? BE: My inspiration comes from mostly my past and present lifestyle. My favorite process when writing my music is not only my thinking process but the mediation that comes with it. I tend to think out of the box when I’m writing my music, I like for my music to be different from others.
UN: What Is Your Story Behind “WICTY”? BE: My story being when it comes to you comes from being in a relationship, everyone has that one person that they’re selfish over. It’s that one person that you want all to yourself, that one person you don’t wanna share with no one else. UN: What Was Your Motivation Behind the Lyrics: BE: My motivation towards the lyrics was actually focused on a female’s way of thinking. Cause its always the females who’s always putting more effort than the guys within a relationship so I wanted to flip the script a lil bit and show females that it’s some guys out here that can be all about one female,
UN: You Have a Very Nice Voice, What Goes Through Your Mind When You’re Writing Your Lyrics? BE: Basically I think about a topic, I stick to the topic, I draw a picture in my head of what I want the song to be about. It’s like an essay, I start off with the main idea, then I go on and on with what can make this song better than the last one. UN: Tell Us About Your Song Writing Process, Which Do You Prefer First the Lyrics Or The Beat? BE: My song writing process is kinda difficult cause I go through numerous stages to make sure that I’m comparing each word to comprehend with the last. So, when I’m writing I prefer listening to the beat because as an artist you let the beat speak to you. UN: What’s Your Motive or Advice You Live By? BE: The motive I live by is nothing is handed to you, no one is going to work harder than you, you have a dream go chase it. UN: For Our Readers Who Never Heard Your Music Describe Your Sound. BE: My sound is unique, it’s complied with so many different melodies which will have listeners on the edge of their seats while listening. I have a voice that’s stands out from others, from high pitch antonyms to my highly-anticipated runs. UN: Do You Ever Get Nervous When Performing in Front Of A Large Crowd BE: No, I actually feed off of a crowd’s energy, I’m a people person, I live for the crowd. Especially the ladies cause they’re who I’m really talking to when I’m singing, I get excited when I’m on stage. UN: Studio Work or Performing Live Which On Do You Prefer And Why? BE: Definitely performing live. I love the reaction the crowd gives me after every song. It’s something about being on stage in front of millions of people and hearing them recite each and every word to your song. UN: Tell Us About Some of The Music You’ve Put Out. BE: When it comes to you, my first official single which is on every big music site there is, iTunes, Tidal, Google Play & Spotify brings a different feeling to its listeners its well balanced with different views on being about one person within a relationship. My next single “Anything” will come out sometime this Spring. It will bring my listeners a Caribbean feel. I went totally left with that song because I wanted to touch more cultures within they heritage. UN: Can You Tell Us About Your Project That You’re Working On? BE: The project that I’m working on Is titled “Introducing Basir” which doesn’t have an exact release date yet because I want to make sure I give the world the proper introduction of me & my talent. I’m shooting for May/June UN: When Will You Be Touring? BE: It’s a tour being put together now but I can’t disclose that information right now but just expect me in a city near you real soon. By Lamona Laverne
GAMING | NINTENDO
It’s been two years since the hip hop world awoke to the news of the loss of one of the cultures young visionary minds. Steven “A$AP Yams” Rodriguez was one of the founding members of the New York hip hop collective A$AP Mob. Yams presided over the group’s success and helped them go from just Harlem spitters to a full-fledged label helping launch the careers of its two biggest stars Rocky and Ferg who are both two albums into their careers at this point. Steven Rodriguez was born November 13, 1988 born and raised in Harlem, NY. Rodriguez is just another of the talents that Harlem can claim he got his first taste of the music industry while interning for Diplomat Records consisting of Cam’Ron, Jim Jones, Juelz Santana, Freeky Zeekey and many more. At the age of 17 Steven got together with friends A$AP Bari and A$AP Illz to create A$AP Mob later joining the trio would be Rocky, Nast, Ferg and Twelvy.
Finally, after months of speculation Nintendo fully unveiled their new console “Nintendo Switch” previously codenamed NX. The January 12th event was live streamed from Japan at 1 p.m. in the afternoon in Japan that is the times here in the U.S. were 11 eastern, 10 central and 8 pacific all pm times. I was one of the crazed gamers who decided to stay up to watch the switch presentation just to see what Nintendo had in store for us. Due to the fact, the press event took place in Japan of course the main language was Japanese all of us stateside got to enjoy it with English voice overs which made it hard to keep up with the action at times. For all the things Nintendo got right of course there are things they still got wrong even after watching their contemporaries (Sony and
I had the pleasure of meeting Yams by complete happenstance at SXSW the annual music, film and art festival that takes place in Austin, TX each spring. Rodriguez approached me on a street corner asking to get a “loosey” (single cigarette) to which I replied I’m not a smoker he then started to comment on how crazy the whole SXSW experience was. A few moments later Yams told me peace as he was walking away I then realized who he was and told him how much I liked the Rocky mixtape as well as the Mob tape. Yams dapped me up told me he appreciated it then said he was gonna go check out “this little thick black mami over there” we both started laughing and he disappeared into the crowd. On January 18, 2015, just like every other hip hop fan I awoke to find out via social media that Rodriguez had passed away in his sleep. Initial reports stated that he had died of a drug overdose to which Rocky responded was false revealing that Yams had sleep apnea. Later through an autopsy it was however revealed by his mother that he did indeed suffer an overdose from drinking the popular southern drink “lean”. Saddened by the loss of her son but also on a personal mission to find out how the drink affects the body in hopes of her son being a cautionary tale for the masses his mother sought out Columbia University professor Dr. Carl Hart to find out more about the southern drink that was claiming victims. Rodriguez would’ve been 29 this past November his loss is still heavy on hip hop community. His crew still chooses to remember him annually on the day of his death christening it “Yams Day”. The first event took place at Terminal 5 in New York and featured such acts as Flatbush Zombies, Lil Uzi Vert, The Cozy Boys and more. Rodriguez was also immortalized on “Yamborghini High” which was premiered on OVO Sound Radio / Beats 1. Yams Day 2017 was held at the world-famous Madison Square Garden.
The biggest title available at launch will be The Legend of Zelda: Breath of The Wild which will also launch on the Nintendo Wii U on the same day and will be the last title for the Wii U ending Nintendo’s run in the 8th generation of home video game consoles. The Switch incorporates pieces from all its previous consoles it has 32GB of onboard storage while that can be upgraded via Micro SD cards up to 2TB when they are available.
Rest In Paradise Steven “A$AP Yams” Rodriguez, November 13, 1988 - January 18, 2015 By Derrick Jackson
The Nintendo Switch will launch on March 3, 2017 at the MSRP of $299.99 here in the US. In box, will be: The Nintendo Switch console, Left and Right Joy-Con controllers, Joy-Con wrist straps, The Joy-Con Grip, The Nintendo Switch Dock, HDMI Cable and an A/C adaptor.
Arriving in April will be a port of Wii U’s Mario Kart 8 in a deluxe form with all the DLC included as well as new characters and tracks. Splatoon 2 will release this summer however we won’t get a proper Mario game until the holiday season when the Mushroom Kingdom meets the real world or the world as Nintendo sees it in Super Mario Odyssey. However, it’s still surprising Nintendo didn’t include a pack in title with the console or at least any bundles with games included. Some big-name developers will lend a helping hand to Nintendo this time out as EA Sports will bring FIFA to the Switch, Bethesda will bring Skyrim and 2K / Take Two will bring NBA 2K18 to the Switch in the fall. Keep an eye out for more titles and information that’s sure to come.
upnextmagazine.com | 45 | FEBRUARY 2017
Red, White, Blue & Black The red represents all of the blood I see Of the lifeless bodies that are dead in the streets They say that White’s right, well I’m not saying that it’s wrong I’m just confused on why this color debate is still going on The Blue is suppose to protect and not just collect a check Rest In Peace to the Dallas officers that were murdered last June I have to pay my respect Black seems like the target regardless of age, sex, or skin tone If it was up to Trump all of us would have been gone Back to Africa like for centuries America hasn’t been home Red, White, Blue, & Black, lets come together and unite If not more blood will be shed and we all will lose the fight 1926 the year “black history month” was created It’s 2017 and the world is still segregated Ruled by hatred, racism, and violence X, Dr. King, and Ms. Parks please come back we need your guidance We lost 4 black queens in 1963, Then Dillon Ruth shot 9 more in 2015 Both scenes were a church lives lost 13 We can’t pray in peace without them preying on us to bomb, or spray the piece How can “all lives matter” when we can’t even come together and change the way we think Black Lives Matter of course I’ll support the movement But one race can’t be the only race to make sure the movement moving Madam C.J. Walker was an entrepreneur, Benjamin Banneker published 6 almanacs a genuis for sure See we can do it all we’ve proven that over time Lewis Latimer created the light bulb so that in our darkest moments we all can shine Red, White, Blue, & Black, Red, White, Blue & Black Black History is our history let’s move forward because there’s no going back - Julian D. Edwards