Make America Great Greater

Diamonique Massey-Johnson

Inspiratedby Nikki Giovanni’s “The Great Pax White” &
The Spirit of the Black Arts Movement

Make America GreatGreater

Shouts fill the streets,

sweaty bodies crowded together,
basking in the summer heat

My body,
my choice !

I can’t breathe !

not for equality,

not an end to police brutality.

Scream the pro-lifers

Gasp those posting #bluelivesmatter on social media

A sea of enraged,

unmasked,
sunburnt faces

scream and rave and shout

I guess it feels different when it’s your body

being mandated

Neither can we. How clueless can you be?

You protest my protest. Label us as rioters,
thugs,
drug dealers,
and criminals

While you invest in cannabis and Bitcoin,
transfer funds to offshore accounts,

loot every legal loophole,

collect colloquialisms like infinity stones just to then claim them as your own

But God forbid I kneel during the national anthem.

The same ones you walk past on your way into Walmart?

The knee of white supremacy weighs heavy on my neck

RESPECT THE TROOPS ! ! ! !

MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN

Slaves made America. Immigrants make America.

All ! Lives ! Matter !

White hoods replaced with red caps,
etched with

bold white print,
that make me blue.

For whom?

A melting pot of ideas,
cultures,
religions,
faiths and races coexisting,
collaborating,

makes America great

Tell that to the parents of Vincent Belmonte,
Ma’khia Bryant,
Xzavier Hill,

children murdered

by law enforcement

this year

There are countless others.

And I don’t mean that figuratively.

You are readily willing to believe that planet you reside is flat,

the moon landing was faked,
that Sandy Hook was staged than you are to accept

that the country you love and celebrate every summer

is deeply flawed

Unfortunately,
these are not isolated events,
accidents or mistakes.

There are literally too many black bodies for one person to count

The system ain’t broken.

The design is.

America may be great… But it needs to be greater For everyone.