St. Louis Police Officer Speaks Out Through Poetry

Race continues to be the main topic of conversation in the U.S, social media and everyday conversation on weekly, daily news shows and newspapers. Actually race talks never really went away but in the last month and a half racial tension has exploded since the killing of Mike Brown in Ferguson, Mo. by a Ferguson police officer.

(From Dissonant Winston Smith)

 It's important to note that some people have a sensitive, nurturing side to them...even the police officers whose lives are being threatened throughout Missouri. To get the point across of how the situation in Ferguson, Mo. has taken a toll on these officers an anonymous police officer launched a blog to share his/her feelings on the matter.

Dissonant Winston Smith posted a heartfelt poem on what he/she feels like. What's so disgusting are the comments that follows. Clearly, those who left negative threatening responses didn't sit back and take in the words on the screen.

If you read the poem carefully you'll see that being a police officer is not easy. If you read the poem carefully you'll know that all police officers aren't corrupt. If you read the poem carefully you should be able to feel sympathy. You will see that his/her spirit and sense of self is held captive because he's afraid of what lurks around the corner.

It's time to take a couple of steps back and think of our actions, the words that spews from our lips, the criticism that hits social media. I'm sick of it...aren't you?

I'm Sick of...

I’m sick of being called a murderer.

I’m sick of “peaceful” protesters threatening to kill me.

I’m sick of being told I’m not trustworthy.

I’m sick of listening to inconsistent accounts of the same story.

I’m sick of adrenaline dumps.

I’m sick of being stuck in condition red all of the time.

I’m sick of not sleeping.

I’m sick of having to watch my back when I go get dinner.

I’m sick of nightmares about my gun not working.

Click here for the entire poem...

Better Said Than Written: Things I Tell My Black Son

*This story has been edited for a correction... see below.
Welcome to the first podcast supplement to Arts of Cultures - Better Said Than Written. This is where I make a personal connection with today's trending topics. The story that is still on most people's minds is the tragic death of Mike Brown, who was gunned down by a police officer in Ferguson, Mo. Mike Brown, as you know, was not armed. This could have been your son, your nephew, your brother. This could have been my son. So what do we tell our children? Click play to hear: Things I Tell My Black Son.

 


• Related story: Artists Takes a Stand for Mike Brown 

* Correction: Renisha McBride was NOT a victim of police brutality or social injustice. (see story here)
Here is the video of the Black Woman who was... 

Artists Takes a Stand for Mike Brown

As I scrolled through my Twitter feed this morning, I realized that the Ferguson, Mo. protest and riots were no longer trending. The uprising was sparked by the shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown by a Ferguson police officer. Brown was unarmed.

After the death of Brown hit social media I came across a painting done by Demont Pinder on Instagram. Brown’s eyes pulled me right in. Pinder captured the essence of a young boy who was ready to take on the world yet there was still a hint of uncertainty in his eyes.  

Guest Post: The Beginning

Earlier this year I introduced you to Aria Kier, a rising sophomore working toward a degree in creative writing at Fairleigh Dickinson University. The 19-year-old young lady had a bad case of writer's block. To resolve, I opened up my laptop and said, "You can't leave until you write something. Now write!"

Aria needed to be in her own space, with her own thoughts to write. So instead, she shared one of her poems she was most proud of from her collection. My Refund, Please?

Since that day, Aria's writer's block slowly started to crumble. She started to write again. This makes me happy, because as I mentioned before, "It saddens me to see a young, talented artists slacking off from their passion."

Aria's newest piece, which recently appeared on her blog Vision of My Words, gets in touch with her sensual side. It's a side that some of us neglect because we are either too shy, embarrassed or we believe that sensuality is down right dirty.

WARNING: If you haven't read a romance novel, do not read any further. If you think that 50 Shades of Grey was too explicit, don't read any further. If you forgot what it was like to be touched with lusting hands and would like to remember then read on...

Summer Discoveries

This summer I spent some time at Point Pleasant Beach along the coast of the New Jersey shore. I also spent a few days in Boston, Mass., to attend the National Association of Black Journalists Annual Conference. During my time away from my day job and Arts of Cultures I found a few cultural topics hiding out in the not so obvious places and I'm surprised more people aren't having these conversations.

First topic: Where do people of color take their vacation?