… historically, the North has always been perceived as more conscious and accepting of African Americans as a people. Although the ills of racism plagued the nation as a whole, the main issues with inequality were more prominent in the South. For ten-plus years after the end of the Civil War, Reconstruction was in order to establish and ‘protect’ the rights of newly freed slaves and the entire Black population, but there were loopholes—Black Codes and Jim Crow Laws.
The South’s racial caste system was predicated on, amongst other things, preventing interracial relationships; protecting white women from black men. It was clear that there was to be no fraternization. In 1954, segregation in public schools was ended by the decision in Brown versus Board of Education. An overall victory for the race, desegregation proved to be a curse for certain individuals.
Emmett Till, a Chicago native, fell victim to the [lack of] advancement of society …
The Catalyst
14 and foreign,
of the same country
but a stranger to this land’s unspoken laws
back home, different colors mixed
dared to touch
to evolve
but as you ride the current south
the Mississippi washes away time and social progression
even though the people look the same
humanity is otherworldly in the Delta
the boy whistles
she cries wolf
just wait Till her husband comes home
You Better Run, Nigger!
an eye for an eye
“how much for a glance, Ma’am?”
he is left wading in the river’s waters
beaten and shot for good measure
weighed down by a Cotton Gin Fan
of slavery’s past
a Northerner
spoiled by desegregation
disillusioned by a subtle taste of equality
he was mailed home, swollen in a box
laid to rest
open-faced for the world to see
a sacrificial lamb, a martyr
the beginning of a grander movement