“Why? A Few Un-Asked Questions,” by Kevin Cooper.
Why do we Black people have to tell anyone, especially certain white people, that Black lives matter? Why do we Black people have to tell certain Americans that we are human beings too? Why do we Black people have to say that just because we are Black doesn’t mean we’re criminals? Why do we Black people have to tell the police and the powers that be not to shoot and murder us just because we are who God made us to be? Why do we Black people have to say to America that just because our skin may be a different color than yours doesn’t mean that you should fear us? Why are Black people, with the knowledge and acknowledgement of society, in prison longer than any other people in this country for the same type of crimes? Why is it that when a Black person is murdered by a white person, that white person is described in the mainstream news media as being mentally ill?
And why is it that when a Black person murders a white person, that Black person is described in the mainstream news media as being criminal or terrorist? Why, despite the fact that Black people have fought for this country in every war, from the very first Revolutionary War to the latest wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the rest of the world, [are] we as a people are made to feel that war is being waged against us in our everyday lives by the same government that we have fought for and died for? Why are we Black people still being oppressed and denied our collective human, civil and constitutional rights, as well as being terrorized and murdered at the will of the police upholding the status quo, just because we are Black people? Why, after all the Black people have done to build this country, to help make it wealthiest country in the world, are we unappreciated, disrespected, taken for granted and made to feel unwelcome in the United States of America? These why questions are never ending, especially the ones that people have chosen to ignore, like, why are Americans so against Black people?
It’s apparent to anyone who really cares about all the citizens, including Black people, that changes have to be made in damn near every aspect of life in this country. These crimes against Black people that have happened in South Carolina, Ferguson Missouri, New York, Ohio, Florida, Michigan and California, just to name a few states, have actually taken place in every state within this country at one point in time or another. Why is it a crime to be poor and Black in America? These changes must come from the people. Why? Because there’s certain people who are committing these crimes against humanity, against Black people. So, therefore it must take all people to bring it in to this man made madness. This includes the criminal justice system, which everyone knows is racist, and where Black people are catching hell just because we are Black. Certain white people within this country are finally seeing and starting to admit, thanks to modern technology, the truths that we Black people have been saying for years upon years, despite the fact that our truths were falling on blind eyes and deaf ears.
No amount of Blackness can justify the brutality, murder, inhumane treatment, long term prison sentences, death penalty unfairness, poverty, inequality, homelessness, hate and disregard for quality and quantity of life in America that Black people as a whole receive. We Black people, especially Black men, of which I am one, are not living, let alone having a dream like the late Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. We are living the American nightmare. And to this, I ask why? In struggle and solidarity from death row at San Quentin Prison. I’m Kevin Cooper.
These commentaries are recorded by Noel Hanrahan of Prison Radio.
