When I heard the story of a law abiding 18-year-old black boy who
was arrested for not doing anything, for just being himself at a bus stop; then, I cried burning tears.
When I woke and heard the news, I couldn’t help but choke back a wall of tears because another unarmed person of color was killed on video. So I cried those burning tears.
When I witnessed another unarmed black man being teased not once, not twice, but three times, I knew I was witnessing excessive force. My only recourse was to cry those burning tears.
After hearing a young black boy explain what he heard at a church; "do you think black people will be going to the same heaven as we are?" My reply was to cry those burning tears.
Then I heard my nephew say the police pulled him over today and they said, "we are going to get you eventually, we are going to get you." I had to sigh, then I asked why? Then those burning tears began to fly, those burning tears began to fly.
Then when I learned of the history enshrined in the US constitution that someone who looks like me could be enslaved for committing a crime, enslaved for being accused and wrongfully convicted, enslaved according to the 13th amendment, my heart sunk. Then I cried with tears in my eyes -- those, burning, burning, tears!
© Derek Marlow Ewell
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