MLK was killed, Beware the Day

6:05 P.M. on Thursday, 4 April 1968: Martin Luther King Jr. lies struggling for life on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee after being shot in the face with a sniper rifle. Photo by Louw, a young South African photographer and filmmaker Joseph Louw, who was working on a documentary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s life, and was staying 3 doors down from King. He rushed outside to help when he heard the shot, and there was nothing he could do, he began taking pictures.

MLK was killed.

And people went into uproar.

They cried in anguish because they realized he was a Black man who didn’t deserve to die.


Rodney King was beaten.

And people went into uproar.

They cried in anguish because they realized a Black man didn’t deserve abuse.


#TrayvonMartin and #MichaelBrown were killed.

And people went into uproar.

They cried in anguish because they realized young Black men didn’t deserve to die.


#FreddieGray was killed.

And people went into uproar.

They cried in anguish because they realized young Black men with records didn’t deserve to die.


#SandraBland was killed.

And people went into uproar.

They cried in anguish because they realized young Black women didn’t deserve to die.


#BenKeita was killed.

And people went into uproar.

They cried in anguish because they realized young Black Muslims didn’t deserve to die.


Very soon,
People will uproar
When a Black trans person is killed.

Crying in anguish, realizing they did not have to die.

Beware the day.


Writing is new for me. If you want to support this and other creative ventures, you can send some encouragement here:

https://www.patreon.com/benjancewicz

 

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