The voices you hear reciting this work are those of Dr. V. S. Chochezi and Staajabu, of Straight Out Scribes.
Moderator: (Audience applauding and cheering) Let’s give a welcome to Straight Out Scribes.
Dr V. S. Chochezi and Staajabu:
I’m gonna start a revolution.
I’m gonna start a revolution.
I’m gonna start a revolution.
I’m gonna start a revolution.
I’m gonna start a revolution.
I’m gonna start a revolution
In my soul.
Gonna seize control of all I have within me,
Anything to make me whole or high
Or both.
I’m gonna start a revolution.
I’m gonna start a revolution.
I’m gonna start a revolution.
I’m gonna start a revolution.
I’m gonna start a revolution.
In my soul.
Greetings. My name is to Staajabu.
I’m Dr. V. S. Chochezi,
And together we are
Straight Out Scribes.
(Audience applauding and cheering)
Calling all poets.
Calling all poets.
Calling all poets.
They’re trying to kill Mumia.
They’re trying to kill Mumia Abu-Jamal.
This is a wake-up call.
This is a wake up smell the coffee
And know what time it is call.
We need your poems to free our brother.
We need your poems to stop the cops
From killing writer, seer, knower, Mumia,
With their injustice machine designed to
Eliminate, incinerate, incarcerate,
And obliterate anything
That threatens their stake and take policies.
We need you poets,
We need you now.
We need you now to say
And pray our brother free
From his political captivity.
Pick up your pens and start the attack.
Use your voice to beat them back.
Throw words at ’em that will
Freeze them in their tracks.
Knock them flat with punctuation,
Ba da, ba da, ba da, ba da, ba da, ba da, ba da!
Make Mojo, juju, conjure sounds
That will choke ‘em down to the ground.
Whyouoooy, Whyouoyuoyuoy (singing).
Stab them three times
With similes, metaphors and rhymes
That will shake them up
And blow their minds.
Stick and move,
Move and stick them to the quick
With sarcasm and wit.
Spit prose on their suits.
Drop heavy, heavy, heavy,
Heavy lines on their boots.
Shoot them down.
Shoot down on all their lies and alibis
So, they’ll doubt what they’re all about,
Trying to take Mumia out.
Make every single syllable count.
Hit ’em high, hit ’em low,
So, they can’t hurt no more of our Mumias,
Geronimos, Peltiers, Ramonas, Mondos, Angelas,
Calling all poets. Nats, Mutulus.
Calling all poets. Malcolms, Martins.
Calling all poets. Rodneys, Garveys.
Calling all poets. Georges, Jonathans.
Calling all poets. Bobbys, Hueys.
Calling all poets. [unclear], Assatas.
Calling all poets. Delberts, Hamptons.
Calling all poets. John Africa and MOVE family.
Calling all poets,
Calling all poets,
Calling all y’all badass revolutionary poets.
They’re trying to kill Mumia Abu-Jamal, y’all,
This is a wake up call.
We’ve got to win this fight
For truth and right.
Come poet and poet and poet
And sing and play
And shout and poet
And say and poet and poet and poet
And lean and dip and poet and poet
And sway and be and vibe and poet
And show and poet and poet and poet
And know that poetry can be
What you want it to be,
So, let’s use it to set Mumia free.
Calling all poets,
Calling all poets,
Calling all y’all youthful, truthful, lyrical,
Satirical, published, unpublished, dead or alive,
Tall, short, fat, skinny, serious, with jive,
Black, Brown, Red, white, daytime, nighttime,
New school, old school, comical, funk,
Populist, environmentalist, frantic,
Romantic, erotic or exotic.
Poets come, poet, poets
Come poet come and poet
And poet and poet and Speak!
And poet and poet and poet and sing.
Calling all y’all.
Badow!
(Audience cheers and applauds)
Dr V. S. Chochezi:
That’s my mama, y’all. That’s Staajabu.
(Audience cheers and applauds)
Move!
No, I didn’t say, excuse me,
I said, move.
And I’m not trying to be rude.
Just trying to get you to move forward,
Mobilize, act, do, think.
Can’t keep standing, sleeping, dreaming, begging,
Sitting in the way doing nothing,
Just whining, complaining,
Stuck in a rut, and can’t get up
Talking about the man,
The system, them people just keep doing you wrong.
Got you singing we shall overcome, again?
Got you lying in place, crying in pain,
Zombification taking over your brain?
Don’t stagnate, don’t give in, give up,
Procrastinate, or acculturate.
Move!
Move toward justice.
Move toward right.
Move toward goodness
And Blackness and day and night.
Move toward freedom.
Move toward Mumia.
Free Mumia. Free your mind.
Free the MOVE 9 and m o v e.
(Audience cheers and applauds)
Can anybody hear me?
Can anybody hear me?
Does anybody feel me?
Does anybody feel me?
Is anybody listening to what’s going on?
To what’s going on?
We’ve got to stop hate.
We’ve got to stop hate.
Before it’s too late.
Before it’s too late.
With love.
With love.
Love
Love
Love
Love
Love
Can anybody hear me?
Can anybody hear me?
Does anybody feel me?
Does anybody feel me?
Is anybody listening to what’s going on?
We’ve got to stop hate.
Before it’s too late
With love.
Love
Love
Love
Love
Can anybody hear me?
Can anybody hear me?
Does anybody feel me?
Does anybody feel me?
Is anybody listening to what’s going on?
We’ve got to stop hate.
Before it’s too late
With love.
Love
Love
Love
Love
More….
Audience:
Love, love, love, love, love.
Dr V. S. Chochezi:
Try!
Audience:
Try, try, try, try, try .
Dr V. S. Chochezi:
And peace.
And peace.
(Audience applause)
Moderator: Okay, our first speaker we’re honored to have is the chair of the African American Studies Department at University of California. When we asked her to co-sponsor this event and help build it, there wasn’t a blink before she said, “Of course.” Let’s give a warm welcome to Ulla Taylor.
Ulla Taylor: Good evening. I don’t think I’m a speaker. I think I’m just here to welcome you, and we’re so excited to be a part of this conversation. The Department of African American Studies recognizes that at this particular moment filled with political chaos, if there was ever a time to have a conversation about transformative empowerment, it’s today. We’re so happy to see all of you here this evening, and I know that you are going to be immensely fed, and I also look forward to being a part of the conversation. Thank you for coming.
These commentaries are recorded by Prison Radio.
