the wisest of us
are self taught
who escape the trap
of being caught
in the web lies
fed in the formal schools
of our oppressors
trained with abnormal rules
deformed
and used
for generations
as tools
of our own … Read the rest
Let me paint a picture for you. In this case art doesn’t merely imitate reality, it captures it.
In Va, prisoners are paid pennies per hour to perform labor that keeps its prisons operating which … Read the rest
Someone once told Huey P. Newton
you are what you eat
Cuz he called cops pigs
but admitted he ate pig feet
Huey responded to the critic
but you call yourself a man
So doesn’t that means my brother
that … Read the rest
We endure torture death
and suffering
while you compete for clout
and fame
Advocates helpers
good talkers bad walkers
ventriloquists who speak
in our name
Which one of you
spoke to us
walked a yard in our shoes
Asked us … Read the rest
behold the silent noise
cries with no voice
generations of shattered lives
discarded like broken toys
a too early demise
lost and tortured souls
ghostly lullabies
legacies no one knows
unknown tomorrows
tossed in ships’ holds
young and old
suffered … Read the rest
“Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and any one class is made to feel that society is an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob and degrade them, neither person nor property will be safe.” – Frederick … Read the rest
did you know the color of her eyes
the texture of her hair
did you know she was there
did you even care
incapable of harm
an innocent new life
a beacon of light
to husband and wife
her world … Read the rest
The Virginia legislature enacted a set of laws governing the state’s prison system. Under those laws it designated a director as the system’s head of operations. (1)
Chadwick Dotson was appointed under the administration of present Virginia governor Glenn Younkin … Read the rest
In a token response to widespread exposure and calls for investigations of prisoners setting themselves on fire in desperate response to rampant racism and abuse at Virginia’s Red Onion State Prison, the prison system announced the appointment of a new … Read the rest
INTRODUCTION
During Jan 2024 I was transferred away from Virginia’s notoriously racist and abusive Red Onion State Prison, after participating in a group hunger strike protesting conditions at the prison. My strike ultimately lasted 71 days. I returned to the … Read the rest