why they hate our white t-shirts and hats turned backwards

Why die for all my beliefs
I gotta look at my kid
I'd rather smile then cry when he's sleep
That's why

the above photo was taken 2 days later and 2 blocks away from the photo in the previous post.

what we do is more important than what is done to us

peep a few pictures from the 2007 Mother's Day Peace Walk

Those words were penned by Nikki Giovanni in the aftermath of the shootings that recently took place at Virginia Tech. Enough analogies have been made about bloodshed whether it is on inner-city streets, abroad in Iraq, or in mass homicides. But the message is clear; willpower is indeed powerful. Last year, I walked 3-plus miles in torrential rains with a few hundred others who turned out for the annual Mother's Day Walk for Peace. Today, the sun was shining, the sky was a crisp, clear blue and the mood was phenomenal. And the turnout was phenomenal. I was delighted to see so many familiar faces in the crowd supporting the cause. It is moments like this that give me hope and motivate me to wake up each morning with a determination to withstand anything that may come my way. Each day I am more and more amazed and humbled by the presence of people who do great things of much wider depth and significance that I probably will ever imagine. And they do so in small steps with faintly an awareness of how many are impacted by their humility and grace. Happy Mother's Day.

Put the needle to your skin feel reality's heroin

I don't puff blunts so I always got my breath

Inject this into your bloodstream and sit back, relax, and take a walk with me down backstreets and alleys and dirt roads where indigenous churn chill on dusty stoops and overturned milk crates. Feel the pulse of time seem away as your eyes roll into the back of daylight; glazing over like freshly baked donuts with a cup of milk on the side. Cloud Nine Time.

Yo Mona Lisa, could I get a date on Friday
And if you're busy, I wouldn't mind taking
Saturday-ay-ay, ay-ay-ay

Now, from this trance picture yourself awakening to a world full of misery, mayhem, and misfortune. Imagine feeling compelled to do everything and nothing. Wanting to take it all on. And feeling lazy and not wanting to be bothered. Imagine realizing that you've once again missed a potentially good opportunity due to either your haste or your laggardness. How do you best penalize yourself for not talking enough on one hand, while trying to find a way to censor your words because they can be so caustic that some people haven't spoken to you in years because of something that slipped out. Some people's mother told them not to say anything if you didn't have anything nice to say. Mine said that, too. But she also said, "fuq 'em." Verbatim. Imagine trying to explain that.

My own clan is acting up, I blame it on the Phillie blunt
-The Fugees, "Blunted On Reality (Remix)"

Now, imagine suffering from a brain freeze, writer's block, insomnia, and lethargy all at once. Yet, still wanting to play ball for a few hours. Either my body is seriously out-of-sync or I need some trees. I'm going to try and write something new for Tuesday night. If I'm unsuccessful, I may just have to hang it up for a while and find a new hobby. Here's to hoping for a good week.

Burned the flesh with the fire, scars developed from screams

I am continually amazed, awed, and inspired by the creativity energy of Boston's youth. Had a chance to witness several different teens from across the city do their thing. And just so you can enjoy a little taste too, here is a gem for you to enjoy. When I meet this kid, I gotta make sure I dap him up and let him know how much I felt this.

Blood, Whispers, Dreamz Kill By Damien Leach a.k.a Rocky, Boston Student Advisory Committee

Dreams they call nightmares, never influenced
But yet I'm making rebel movements, when ya'll feeling my muzik.
Precious Rhymes, put to waste when they're saying the foolish.
But I could feel, what is real, when I'm dreaming the truest.

What life starts, doesn't alwayz mean what it seems.
Burned the flesh with the fire, scars developed from screams.
Understanding my one nature, when I seen it complete.
Visualizing the same cries, once the blood hit the sheetz.

Put my life on pause, to ask God, what was wrong with me.
Others stay lost, looking for answers through astrology.
I stayed realistic, this generation doesn't think logically
Claimed to be hard, but really soft mentally.

Some call them sins; I simply call them constant memories.
Times in the past, that knock further, my destiny.
It seem them like visions, they later come to mess with me.
To dizzy from anger, cuz these lyrics burn so viciously.

Later come questions, and other feeds of basic therapy.
I tried to stay strong, but my dreams truly be disturbing me.
Camouflage my thoughts, and soldier up for my family.
I have no weaknesses, though these bars show da pain in me.

Living the same visions seems they haunting my soul.
But you could feel my aggression, when you living my flows.
Dreams of those who shot bullet holes, through ya dome.
Too late to connect the line, from ya phone to ya home.

As I lay my heart keepz pumping cold vibrations.
Cornered in the struggle, no way out of escapement.
It's the criminal mind; their thoughts got them feeling so scared,
Which is why my expressions, always bleed from their hatred.

only on my front yard when i get my lawn mowed

i'm in the trash can like I'm Oscar
-The Lox, "We're Back"

Peep these interesting tidbits from the past week

Boston has more of the fastest-growing inner-city companies than all but one other US city. Yet, Dudley Square is still a shell of itself and lacks a vibrant commercial vitality to date. It is a slightly deceptive description when you get into the meat of what the study really revealed, yet it still shows Boston coming in second to Detroit. I happen to be familiar with two of the five companies cited and know that there is much room for more to join their ranks.

Some people think that heads who rock baggy jeans "puts them in a category of not really wanting much out of life." oh word? what study did you commission? the article was good though; it wasn't one-sided. it expounded on the conservative transformation of the baby-boomers who once rebelled against their parents as youth. One girl even said, "I know guys who dress like that and are still in school and get good grades." Go figure.

Someone from Big Sisters had called a friend of mine not long ago saying that they had some job openings. We had a talk maybe two weeks ago about who we knew that would be good candidates. But the talk then shifted to how the work environment is over there and I learned the Bib Brothers has been trying to strong-arm heads. Surprisingly, a recent article dissected the beef and it is eye-opening.

the fruits of my labor ain't bearing no harvest

-Consequence, "Job Song"

babylon come down? maybe. their is change in the winds. we got companies moving from diversity to inclusion. we got universities divesting from Sudan. we got some phenomenal academic-type writing really break down urban violence and its historical context.