Enough
By Sarah, 13, New York
You fit the description! Don’t move! Stand still! Put your hands up! Get on the ground! Stop resisting …
We hear you! But do you hear us? Are we that threatening? Why is my skin so scary?
That’s my phone, not a gun!
What gives you the right to take one’s life?
Please don’t let me die! I can’t breathe I don’t have a gun. Stop shooting I can’t breathe…
Do you remember us?
Eleanor Bumpers – 1984
Margaret Mitchell – 1999
Amadou Diallo 1999
Sean Bell -2006
Oscar grant – 2009
Kenneth Chamberlain – 2011
Trayvon Martin – 2012
Kimani Gray – 2013
Eric Garner – 2014
Michael Brown – 2014
Tamir Rice – 2014
Sandra Bland – 2015
Freddie Gray – 2015
Philando Castile – 2016
Stephon Clark – 2018
Breona Taylor- 2019
Amaud Aubry – 2020
George Floyd – 2020
Patrick Warren -2021
And the list goes on …
Why can’t you hear us as we take our last breath, as we beg for mercy and call our mothers, fathers, and God?
As you watch our bodies stiffen, do you know how many families you’ve broken! Do you know how many dreams you’ve stolen!
Is it that you don’t care because the juror is likely to find you not guilty!
When will enough be enough? When will you hear our cries? When will you see us? Who will be next?
This is for the kid with the hoodie and Skittles
This is for the kid with the toy gun just having fun.
This is for the kid visiting relatives in Money.
This is for the little princess whose life was cut short.
This is for the girl who just wanted to ask for help.
This is for the man whose wife and daughter saw him take his last breath.
This is for the man whose blood watered his grandmother’s grass.
This is for the man who couldn’t take a jog
This is for the people who couldn’t go to church… whose blood stained their bibles, baby blankets, and Sunday best.
This is for all the Black bodies that hung like “Strange Fruit” decorating trees while some went on celebrating.
This is for all of our fallen Black souls whose lives will never matter nor will that of future generations, if we remained silent.
My generation is not tolerating White Hate and Rage!
Do you see us now? Do you hear us now? Enough is Enough cuz your time is up!
7 Comments
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Colleen says:
This generation doesn’t look away! Keep us focused on what is happening.
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Sarah Soumahoro says:
Right, we cannot look away if we want these things to change! Ignoring these issues will just cause history to repeat itself and will stop us from moving forward as a community and as a society.
Thank you for reading!
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Dr. Joy Lawson Davis says:
This story is so heart breaking, so alive, so real. We must do better, do more to change the laws of our land to protect our people.
Thank you for pouring out your heart!
Dr. Joy Lawson Davis-
All we can do speak out and make sure people are aware of these issues so that we can prevent things like this from happening in the future.
Thank you so much for the support!
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Amen! Preach! Nothing will change until our voices are impossible to ignore. We cannot be silent & we must not be silenced!
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Right! We need to continue to speak out and address these issues so that people understand why we need change now; not later. As the youth it’s up to us to make sure our voices are heard!
Thank you for reading:)
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This is so powerfully written Sarah. The pain expressed through your words shows the way….when anyone especially white looks at who is being hurt by policy and violent prejudice this piece is a record and a call to action. 👏