| Return to Shaka Sankofa's Homepage |
BY AMINA, in Amsterdam...
Who killed Shaka Sankofa?
- not I said the governor,
I'm only sticking to the law
it wasn't me who gave the
nod
it must have been the will
of god
you can't blame me
they gonna vote me
to the presidency
who killed shaka sankofa?
- not us said the pardons
board
we really thought about
this hard
we checked the facts we
checked the law
it wasn't us you know it's
true
we did what we're supposed
to do
who killed shaka sankofa ?
- not me said the lawyer
who worked for the court
you can't blame me, he didn't
say
exactly where he was that
day
I did my best, I know the
law
he did what he was in there
for -
I think he did, he could
have done,
it wasn't clear - he had
a gun
that almost could have been
the one…
who killed shaka sankofa?
- not me said Bernadine
who was right there on the
scene
I saw a man shoot bobby
down
I saw the gun, I saw the
frown
it wasn't dark, I used my
lights
a young black man was in
my sight
the police showed me photographs
but those young men were
not quite right
they asked me once, they
asked me twice
could we just give you some
advice
this young man here, this
graham guy
he could have been the man
you spied
come down and see the line-up,
then
you may remember him again
I didn't kill him, you must
see
I just did what was asked
of me
who killed shaka sankofa?
- not me said the doctor
who stuck the needles in
his arm
I must do good, I can't
do harm
but this is something you
must see
is just as its supposed
to be
it doesn't hurt, he doesn't
know
when those drugs begin to
flow
it's good - he's free of
all that pain
of whether he'll get out
again
oh yes it's sad he had to
die
at least he didn't have
to fry
this is humane, there is
no pain
I have to say that again
you can't blame me, it's
just my job
I didn't steal, I didn't
rob
who killed shaka sankofa?
- not us said the jury
who sat in court for two
whole days
we heard the facts, we saw
the boy
it seemed clear cut, you
must see that
if we'd been told about
the gun
that his could not have
been the one
that fired the bullet that
they found
we'd never have convicted
him
they didn't give us all
the facts
we couldn't know, it's not
our fault
it wasn't us that made him
die
who killed shaka sankofa?
- not us said the justice
system
you know he had his day
in court
we handled it how we've
been taught
the jury said that he should
die
so that's the simple reason
why.
our laws are good, our courts
are grand
the constitution of
this land
makes sure that each man
gets the chance
to have his say and show
his stance
It's worked for us 200 years
so you should put away your
fears
an innocent man will never
die
while Old Glory flies on
high
so who killed shaka sankofa?
was it you, was it me?
is there something that
we didn't see?
a call we didn't make in
time,
a letter, a message, a word,
a sign?
we let him die, we didn't
fight
enough to save him from
his plight
so now we know
and everyone who lives on
death row
better know
that we're their greatest
enemies
the one's who say - it isn't
gonna make a difference
if I sign or if I call
cos they wont listen to
me at all
so I'll just go and watch
tv
and thank the lord it isn't
me.
A LETHAL INJECTION
ON DEATH ROW BY JUST ANOTHER ANGRY BLACK MAN
By Kevin Trimell Jones
Today, I'm an angry
Black man as I sit here and watch the lynching of
Sankofa.
God knows, that I am angry-An angry Black man.
Every time the tear falls haphazardly to the ground, I am angry.
Each time I clinch
my pants, with every fist I must ball so that I can
contain myself, I am angry.
Oh, how long before vengeance is granted to my soul?
Oh, how long must I wear the shackles before you see my pain?
The world must understand that today, it's ok to be angry.
He promised to "fight like hell," but I am still angry.
I am angered that another 17 year old acted a fool 22 times in one week.
Still, I am angered
by the fact that he was injected by the words of one.
And such a ruling would
anger even the Old Test Laws.
Tonight, I must come
out as the angry Black man you feared in order for
you to understand.
"Keep marching Black
people. Keep marching." This they tell me Sankofa
uttered.
But, listen, and I will tell you that today I'm angry.
I'm angry each and
every time a Black man must die-a death tenfold of the
disease passed by the US.
"They're killing me tonight. They are murdering me tonight!"
I am angry because they're killing us tonight, Sankofa, all of us.
How many more deaths before we get organized?
Shall they strip us all to our privates and parade us through the streets?
Shall they take our land, binds our hands, and leave us to die?
When will you finally get angry?
People, I am angry
tonight because at 8:49pm, they've just killed another
part of me.
I'm angry tonight,
because my voice was never heard. Once again, I too
have been ignored.
Tonight, I'm angry because 38 want me to die.
...because they would not hear my evidence;
...because I have a testimony, but they will still strangle me;
...because with three
injections and within seven minutes, my moment of
completion will be
nigh.
I'm angry tonight because
you've executed my mothers, castrated my
fathers, fucked my sisters,
and lethally injected my brothers.
I am angry that the
KKK was on one side, and the AK-47's were on the
other, only teasing each
other for the sake of nothing.
I am angry tonight because tonight MSNBC did not televise the revolution.
I'm angry tonight.
I'm angry tonight.
I am angry tonight!
"Africans get organized," because we should all be angry tonight.
Dying with one eye
closed-going on to better lands; and keeping one open,
looking to better days,
I, too, am angry, but now, I understand.
Kevin Trimell Jones
**********
>From the poet Suheir Hammad:
on the state sanctioned murder of shaka sankofa
they are killing me tonight,
they are murdering me tonight.
8:49 pm pronounced dead,
with one eye open.
these names i place in my
mouth tonight. shaka sankofa, amadou
diallo, and mumia abu jamal.
these names familiar on my tongue. all
african, muslim names.
all eastern, all other. until the end of his
breath, shaka sankofa, born
gary graham, urged black power. march
on, black people, he said.
dead. and an example,
now, to all people. a promise of what is to
come. state sanctioned
killings of innocents. a white towel they
placed on his face, to cover
his stare.
i place these names in my
mouth, and think of how american the name
shaka tastes. how
american mumia sounds. and the names of men we
love who are called after
prophets, nations, blood lines, warriors.
the men we love who can
never have enough eye witnesses. the state
will turn back even god's
eye, and witness murder easily.
if i could talk right now,
i'd call my girl, and tell her to keep our
son inside. to shape
his head into a bullet-proof crown. i'd
whisper my intimates' names
into a secret pot, bury it under a tree,
and pray for strength to
grow. i'd at least scream this pain out
into the street. rage
at this night. i'd call wbai and say, i don't
know what to say.
my sisters are somewhere tonight, broken down one
more time.
and what are we gonna do?
shut what down? boycott whom? appeal to
which court?
what kind of shit is this?
i had to decide whether to make a meeting
on an art piece dedicated
to mumia, or join a rally after shaka's
reprieve was denied for
a lethal, final time. what kind of decision
is that to make? when
mumia has to decide between beloved and the
wretched of the earth to
keep in his meager possession.
and a 17 year old gary graham,
criminalized since birth. chose the
name for himself sankofa.
a ghanian word, meaning to learn from the
past. transformed
himself into a soul outside of bars and skin and
even death.
it is hope they killed.
it is life they ate.
i love you, he said several
times. i love you. learn from the past.
george bush jr. is
a murderer, as is his father. learn from the
past. we still have
mumia. learn from the past. i love you, he
said. one eye open.
i love you. learn from the past.
62200 10:49pm
| Return to Shaka Sankofa's Homepage |
