Black on Black is Not a Crime

White on White Crime

I am so disturbed by the phrase “Black on Black Crime.” I hate when it is thrown out as an excuse for Police Brutality and Wannabe Police Brutality, but I am equally pained when those opposing the ridiculous argument use the same disparaging terminology. There is no such thing as Black on Black Crime, any more than there is white on white crime, brown on brown crime, or blue on blue crime. They do not exist, so why do African Americans embrace this expression to either agree or disagree with its contentious and conjured merit? Can we please take a collective deep breath and stop going along with America’s subliminal racist tactics to continue blatant racism hidden in plain sight?

Black on Black should be celebrated, applauded and admired. Black on Black is love, community, pride and power. I refuse to allow commentators, hate groups and apologists to define my heritage, ancestry and seed as criminal. My children and their children; my parents and grandparents; my ancestors who bore stripes, nooses, hoses, bars, chains, electric chairs and bullets were far from criminal. The sacrifice, toil, and unadulterated hate that was heaped upon them without ceasing did not give them rise to give in. They built a nation on their backs without recompense, without apology, without acknowledgement. We are a resilient people who believe in survival, not for self but for generations to come. There is nothing criminal in that.

Militarized Police

Please do not get middle class comfortable and forget from where we come and how far we have yet to travel. Police officers are given carte blanche to detain, arrest, and murder black bodies. Wearing a hoodie, listening to loud music, playing/holding toy guns in an open carry state, being big, suffering mental illness, being homeless, driving, running, bicycling, walking, complying, just being are all sufficient reasons for the police to beat, tase, and shoot African Americans to death justifiably in a court of law. This does not take into account the countless hours of harassment endured, tickets levied, fines paid, and years of imprisonment imposed on the innocent. White on Black Crime would be far more accurate historically and present day.

When Black on Black Crime is brought up to excuse organized criminal activity by those charged with protecting and serving the African American community; retort with the phraseology and statistics of “White on White Crime”; ask for a definition of the term forcing them to unpack the racist, convenient and meaningless catchphrase; or explain what Black on Black means to you – innocence, resilience, love, strength, pride and power. Black on Black is harmonious, humorous, ingenious, inspirational and amorous. I’m so glad you brought up Black on Black because that is me guilt free, seeking liberty in the midst of a Red, White and Blue on Black Crime Spree.

Beautiful Black on Black Family

Identity Crisis - Excerpt from the Chapbook "I SPaT"

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My identity has made a huge impact on my art. Expertise is ever evolving, but the credential of self-knowledge is probably the easiest to back. So many writers, including myself, write about what we know. It is accessible and often therapeutic. I am a Christian, so I try to maintain some semblance of Godliness in my work. The Bible discusses the best and the worst in each of us, yet it is still biblical. I try to be as honest and raw when need be in my commentary, but I remind myself that my lower self has no place in public company. Speaking from a higher voice not only releases wisdom from a spiritual source, it also guides me to where I need to be; often the talk comes first, and then the walk. I am black, so my perspective is awash in the pigment of Africa and whitewashed in the hue of America. It is all that I know. I have no other voice. I am delighted by all of me, but perhaps it is a longing for my motherland that keeps me attached to the fantasy of what lying in her warm bosom would have meant in the face of a cold patriarchy that holds me at arm’s length in my own home. I am a recovering alcoholic and drug addict; mental health issues are a constant and depression, like a friend, is always near. So I struggle to remind myself how far I have come, this too shall pass, and just say, no. This part of me I give freely to the reader, because I know how important a word, any word can be. Sometimes we just need to know someone made it over to the other side, even if they are teetering on the edge. I am a single mother of four. The best and the hardest role one can take on; nothing original. There were days that literally drowning would have been a relief from the cruelty of being underwater sun after sun, moon after moon. I contemplated running away, alcohol, suicide. That is how hard it was, but I also saw the best of me in their eyes. So I stayed; sober, alive. Ironically, if I didn’t have them I would either be a bestselling novelist leading a fabulous life or dead from a self-inflicted tragedy. I am almost sure it is the latter. That is why I have them or perhaps they have me. My children are in every press of the keyboard, every press of pen to paper, every press I extol to the world – read all about them! I don’t have much to offer, so I write for them.

Click to View SpokenWord - Excerpts from "I SPaT"

My words are a tangible offering of my identity free spirit. Yes, I am free of the labels I carried for more than forty years; however, my writing is for those on the brink of liberty; those that can relate to how I made it by and by. It has been nearly ten years since I first completed this book. There are some revisions and poem additions in this updated printing. But the biggest change has come from within. I am leading with my perfected spirit and no longer with my many human flaws. Blessed be those who know me now. My step is lighter, my focus is clearer, my days are better, and my smile is real. If God never did another thing for me, He has already done enough for His praise to continually be in my mouth; now, I feel the same way about me. If I never write another word, make another dollar, or see another day, the love I have for myself will forever be overflowing. But just like God will make a way out of no way, I will write another word, receive recompense for my service and live on throughout eternity. Eventually, my work will reflect the identity free spirit that joyfully abounds within me, but until then my ink will remain black to reflect the struggle, depth, and enduring faith of God’s people; black to reflect God’s everlasting mercy and eternal grace - In Spirit Power and Truth.