Above Photo by Viajero from Pexels
Updated May 10, 2021
For anyone wanting to see the Winner’s announcement post and see the other winners of the wonderful challenge, please click here. All recognition is well deserved.
[Original post from here on.]
I’ve been working on a sweet and inspiring story about a group of activists planning several protest marches, ranging from DACA to AAPI to Black Lives Matter and more, while sipping coffee at a diner. I haven’t been able to finish this story for weeks and have decided to put it aside to revisit later. After hearing the verdict of the Derek Chauvin case, I decided to write something else, something inspired by the heat of the moment, and something that I haven’t fully processed or thought through, but something I’m still going to share anyway.
Good Freedom Dream
Good morning, “they” say.
What’s so good about it?
It’s just another morning for me to wait.
To wait for the freedom that didn’t come in 1865.
Another day for a freed black person to be addressed as “boy” or “girl”.
Good day, “they” say.
What’s so good about it?
It’s just another day for me to wait.
To wait for the freedom that was taken by Jim Crow.
Another day for a freed black person to be killed for walking on the wrong side of the street.
Good afternoon, “they” say.
What’s so good about it?
It’s just another afternoon for me to wait.
To wait for the freedom that didn’t come with the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Another day for a freed black person to be paid less for their work and time while someone else appropriates and profits from it.
Good evening, “they” say.
What’s so good about it?
It’s just another evening for me to wait.
To wait for the freedom that won’t come while Black Panthers are call terrorists but the KKK is not.
Another day for a freed black person to face the ugly truth of a lying and unapologetic nation.
Goodbye, “they” say.
What’s so good about it?
It’s just another passing for me to wait.
To wait for the freedom that didn’t come with the acquittal of George Zimmerman.
Another day for a freed black person to be criminalized just for being black.
Good Freedom Morning, I hear my people say.
What’s so good about it?
It’s another morning of no more waiting.
No more waiting for the dream of freedom promised for more than 200 years.
No more waiting… but it’s only a dream, a dream we’re one small step closer to.
NCCO- 287 words- Good Freedom Dream 2021 Copyright © Toinette J. Thomas
I’m glad George Floyd got the justice he deserves but this isn’t the end. Nothing has been solved. Black people are still being seen as a violent threat just for being black. Someone WILL surely come along and say, “See, we held that one guy accountable.”, “Aren’t we done talking about this yet?” or “Just wait, you’ll get your police reform eventually,” because that’s the story of U.S. black people. We get a sliver of freedom or justice and then we wait…
–
Updated 4/25- I’m limiting my response to “Thank you for your words.” on any comments to this post as an acknowledgment and appreciation to those who took the time to comment. Reading the comments of this post is turning out to be too emotional for me at the moment.
–
Please visit other entries in this hop and enjoy some funny, scary, touching, and thought-provoking stories. You’ll be so glad you did.
Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords #blacklivesmatter
36 replies on “FREEDOM MORNING #WEPFF Challenge featuring Good Freedom Dream #amwriting #poetry”
Hi,
I feel the pent up anger in your poem. Your poem expresses this anger very well. I have no idea how many people carry this anger but change will not come until the anger is dealt with.
Shalom aleichem
What you, and many others perceive as anger, is the harsh reality of disappointment. You are entitled to your perception and I am entitled to feel utterly and completely disappointed and let down. A change will not come whether I’m angry or disappointed. Change will only come when enough, or the right, people actually want change.
So much truth.
Change is slow – and important change often slower yet. The verdict was a tiny step in the right direction but there are so many more steps to take. Over the years, I’ve had so many discussions with students on how to make important change happen. It must start within ourselves, but that’s not enough. Our youth do give me hope. *hugs*
The youth have a lot on their plate. They are trying to succeed where countless generations before them have failed and or fallen short. I hope they live to see the change we all desire.
Congrats on the win, Toi! Well deserved – still thinking about your words!
Hi Toi – I hear you … and I loved your poem … so thoughtfully written – the changes as the day goes forward. I’m afraid we’ve (the human modern race) has been like this for thousands of years … I sincerely hope we can free ourselves from others’ tyranny. With thoughts – Hilary
Sometimes is not the tyranny of others we need freedom from, sometimes it’s the tyranny we’ve accepted and allowed to exist from our own- from “we the people.” Thank you for your words of support.
Native Indians should apologize to the tatankas. Tatankas to whom?
Sanhita.
https://projectionofnaught.blogspot.com
The little knowledge I have about tatankas is not enough for me to fully understand your statement. I’m very much interested in elaboration. Reading your WEP entry did not fully help me comprehend this. Please feel free to educate me more on this. Thank you.
Your poem is inspiring, and I understand where the disappointment is coming from, but I agree with Pat. Anger and violence don’t lead to the solution. They just breed more violence, more anger from the other side. I’m Jewish. My nation has been persecuted for thousands of years. But you don’t see Jewish people breaking windows and burning cars. There is another way, I’m sure.
Where exactly in my poem do I suggest that violence is acceptable? Where exactly did you get the imagery of ” people breaking windows and burning cars” from? Not from me, not from the words I wrote.
Whether you condone violence or NOT, you have NO RIGHT to tell an oppressed people they don’t have a right to be angry. Especially as a Jewish person whose people have been persecuted for thousands of years.
Why is that when a black person expresses their disappointment it is immediately perceived as angry? Why does making a reference to Black Panthers mean I share their stance? I made a reference to the KKK but doubt anyone believes I share their stance and yet, my words are perceived as anger because I dared to write them.
My poem was not about anger, but this response is. I am not angry at you; I am angry at a society that holds black people at a different standard than everyone else. I am, however, disappointed in your response.
Hello Toi. Wonderful poem, full of pent-up emotion and anger at the long wait for freedom promised in the Declaration of Independence. The conviction of Derek Chauvin might be the beginning of a newer, brighter day for black people in the US, but I have my doubts. Ingrained racism is hard to deal with. As Olga says, Jewish people don’t break windows etc in protest. As far as my reading goes, a lot of the damage caused during BLM protests wasn’t by black people at all. But nevertheless, let’ us pray that MLKs prayer for equality will be answered. Tout de suite!
Thank you for your words. I appreciate your assessment. I’m limiting my response to “Thank you for your words” on comments to this post moving forward, as an acknowledgement and appreciation to those who took the time to comment. I really appreciate it; however, reading the comments of this post is turning out to be too emotional for me at the moment.
Hi Toi
Poignant and so true. It is a grievous wrong and I too wonder when it will change. Trump sent America backwards, but now I hope for new beginnings with Biden and so many important bills in Congress under him that need to pass. I worry for my grandson who is bi-racial. He has a brilliant mind and photographic memory. We had to sit him down and give him ‘the talk.’ Being raised by a white family has left him vulnerable, or so I fear. But, Obama gave me a lot of hope for my grandson’s future. What a brilliant man who made me proud to be an American. There are no words to describe how disgusted I am of Derek Chauvin or any of the other terrible people who have committed these murders. I’m so glad he was found guilty. I am hopeful that this guilty verdict will help to usher in a more just period of time for all minority groups.
Nancy
Thank you for your words.
I always appreciate the honesty, the anger, the spirit of fighting for an equal space- all of which you share with your powerful words Toi.
Thank you for your words.
Yours was the one I wanted to read the most, and you didn’t disappoint. You never do. Your words are always so evocative of the moment, the truth – emotional and powerful. Thank you!
The verdict, a small step in a long, sadly too long, journey.
Thank you for your words.
Very powerful and very moving. I feel your disillusionment in every stanza. However, I do feel that a tipping point has been reached, not just in USA but all across the world – injustice and discrimination are issues affecting every society. Young people are no longer willing to settle for the status quo. They will have their freedom, sooner or later. And this verdict will be the first step in that march. I am hopeful.
Brilliant take on the prompt, btw! 🙂
Thank you for your words.
Like Yolanda i couldn’t wait to read your entry to Freedom Morning and it was definitely worth waiting for. Amazing and powerful and heartrending.
Thank you for your words.
This poem is so powerful and resonates with everything we see happening in the world. Freedom has been promised, but so many are still waiting for it to come.
Thank you for your words.
A powerful poem mixed in with some social commentary. Well done.
Thank you for your words.
Thank you for sharing you powerful poem.
What are the odds that this case, this ruling, would coincide with our little flash fiction bloghop? I was thinking that it’d be cool if someone wrote their entry after the verdict… and here you are, having done that!
It is one small step, but at least it’s one in the right direction. I don’t want to imagine the world if it had gone another way.
And yeah, I’ve never heard a good explanation as to why the Klan isn’t labeled as a terrorist organization when they are clearly best known for terrorizing people. (Oh right, because they keep getting their members elected, and we don’t want to admit to having terrorists in Congress, right?? Mmmmhhhmmm.)
Thank you for your words.
I hear you!
Thank you for your words.
Thank you for writing it. (hugs)
Such a powerful piece. Thank you for sharing it, for not letting “them” (us? I don’t want to be complicit, but of course I am) silence your strong, beautiful, eloquent, pained voice.
Heartiest congratulations Toi. Such a gem!
Dear Toi – thank you for expressing your thoughts so powerfully – you’ve made us stop and think … so pleased your entry won. All the best – Hilary