While we talkshout whisper
Imani writes on her poster board
THE 13TH AMENDMENT
Then she writes some more words
Dr. Bennu nods
Y’all should know this, he says
Y’all should really understand this
Constitution of the United States of America
Thirteenth Amendment
Section 1
Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.
Section 2
Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Dr. Bennu tells us to
read each word out loud
We bitch and moan
moan and bitch
Nobody wants to
but I do
So we’re like slaves?
I ask
Is that what it says?
Dr. Bennu asks
Basically, if we’ve been
convicted of a crime
we’re slaves
So when you did whatever you did
or whatever they think you did
Your lifeyour whole damn life
belongs to them
Now read what it says
on those orange jumpsuits
You’ve been branded
labeledboxed in
You’ve become property
of the state
Tell us something we don’t know!
I blurt out
Some of the guys laugh
but Dr. Bennu and Imani
and all the other
important people in suits
stare at me
You’re right, youngblood
Dr. Bennu says
You don’t belong to anyone
while you’re in here
Not even to yourself
And you already know that
He’s about to leave
and the words are
caught in my throat
stuck there
like stone
Excuse me, Dr. Bennu, I say
standing from my seat
I swallow back
the stone
and make my fist a mic
I make truth out of the air
out of the room
out of this place
Saying down with the blacks but uplift the white race
Raising the banner to the sun in haste
Mobbed deep, hoods and capes
Sun-dried and bloodstained
Saying down with the blacks but uplift the white race
Unjustly tried an indelible conviction
the usual result of five shades of darker skin
Justice unjust, black robes and pale face
Didn’t have a chance, they called us apes
I wish I would have known the false smiles
Evil intentions fulfilling their taste
Why me? Why us?
Justice unjust, black robes and pale face