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WHY? Why are there so many young Black men killing each other, and why aren't we as a community working together to put an end to this destruction? Why are so many of our children/youth dropping out of school? Is it because the school system is corrupt and designed to fail Black children, or is it that we have failed them as parents? Why are there so many hungry and homeless people living in Amerikkka ... the richest country in the world? Is this the way God wanted it, or is it the result of a racist, Kapitalistic, dog-eat-dog, classist society? Why
is there a liquor store on every corner in the Alkebulanian (Black/Afrikan)
community and a library or educational bookstore/facility on every
corner in the European (White/Amerikan) community; or downtown somewhere,
far Why is it that there are more Black men in prison than in college? Is it because we believe that prison is for us due to years of indoctrination by the Amerikkkan public school system, or is it something genetically wrong with our ability to learn as the racist anthropologists of old proclaim? Why is it that 45 to 55% of the Black community held Kaptive in prison throughout Amerikkka? Is it because we are irresponsible as a community, or is it a cold, calculated plot by the government to re-enslave us? Or is it both? Why is it that 43% of Black women in Amerikkka, from age 18 to 24, are infected with HIV/AIDS? Is this anexaggeration, or is it the result of sick Black men engaging in sick activities with other men in prison and on the streets, and returning to our sisters, masquerading as real men? Why
is the Black man so bitter, spiteful, and disrespectful towards
the Black woman, when it is she who loves us more than anything,
and who supported Why
are we so passive when it comes to fighting for our rights and our
freedom? And why aren't we carrying the torch that was lit by those
who bled and went to Why
are we still asleep, when the opportunity to wake up is readily
available? Is it because we like being asleep or is it that we honestly
do not know, or do not Why is it that a great percentage of young Black males carry pistols and sell drugs? Is it because they think it is cool, or because they think it is the only way that a Black man can make it in Amerikkka? Why
is it that we will risk our lives in Iraq and other countries, for
a country that cares nothing about us, but that we refuse to risk
our lives for the liberation, We must ask ourselves: WHY? WHY? WHY? --- Kamau
Tebogo Zulu Damali is housed in Wisconsin's sole supermax, the Wisconsin
Secure Program Facility. He describes himself as a self-educated
man who has been learning Swahili and dreams of receiving a college
degree if ever released. He recently completed a book entitled,
Prison Letters, and is working on a second, called Poetic Revolution.
Kamau
T. Z. Damali is helping his wife-to-be plan
the founding of a nonprofit organization for underprivileged children
in Washington, D.C. Most of his writings "revolve around the
Black experience and the importance of breaking chains and taking
back our communities - to give our youth and future generations
a hopeful future [...] It's incumbent upon us to participate in
the uplifting of our people, and since at the moment our only tool
is the pen, we've used this to reach the people and to get out the
truth." You may contact Kamau T. Z. Damali directly by writing to him at the address listed above. The following link offers tips for writing to prisoners: http://prisonersolidarity.org/TipsForWritingPrisoners.htm |
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