Prison Radio
Spoon Jackson

It’s called “The Look” for the people who, uh, believe in one race, one world, one color, which is human.

I tried not to speak on the murder by the Minnesota officers. The look on this one officer’s face is if he had the right to murder black people, if he had the right to kneel on a black man’s neck, prying down his knee until he was dead. Even though bystanders looked on, he kept on an evil grin on his face. How could anyone stand by for over nine minutes and watch the torture and do nothing? How can anyone stand by and watch a flame become a raging fire? Hands held high, hands held low, even without hands or legs, where do black man or people of color go?

I tried not to speak on the murder by the Minnesota officers. But brother only asked to breathe and to speak to his mother. Brother Floyd only asked to speak to his mother. I tried not to speak on the murder, yet the video of that officer prying his knee on a black man’s neck and head haunts me. The hatred in his eyes, looking directly into the camera, as if he had his knee on the neck of a hog or sheep waiting to cut his throat.

There are no good cops when they stand by and watch a fellow cop murder another human being. There are no good cops anywhere when they stand by and allow fellow cops to unload bullets on unarmed black or brown men and women. There are no good cops anywhere when one of their own, a known killer, shoots people in the back and says justifiable act. People of color must not bow down anymore, must not get on the ground because the racist white cops especially will kill you anyways. Hands held high, hands held low, even without hands, where do black men or people of color go?

These commentaries are recorded by Prison Radio.