… 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