WORDS
written by the lovely Ma’at

Words mean nothing
everything
Confined by the speaker
Writer
Audience
Perception

In Spoken form
Words Cause your ears to Bleed
They call you a Nigger
Bitch
Boy
They deleted your past from your present through Spoken Word
Taught you to love his Word and forget your own
They took your language so you lost your power
Power to speak
Power to communicate
Power to grow as a people

In Written Form
Words are a weapon
Blinding light, truth, way
Don’t read!!!
Remain, Ignorant to our reality
Our reality as Black people in America
Black people in the world
Stricken with poverty, beaten, crippled
Our women raped of their womanhood
Our men raped of their manhood
Our children raped of their innocence
Emancipate yourself from mental slavery
Words…..
the key to your freedom
Do not be a slave to your vocabulary

Today’s piece is not written by myself. I came across this piece via a very inspiring young woman who is committed to bridging truth and words to make profound statements that speak to communities of color. I hope you enjoy, I know I did!

Where black people meet the law?
by Ma’at

Where black people meet the law?
Where a single mother gets evicted from her apartment…
Because Bill, Bob and Dick moved in upstairs
Mary, Jane, and Sue moved in downstairs
And now her property value rises too high for her meager earning

Where the long are of the law shoves a hollow gun against the temple of a black man while shouting
“YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN SILENT”
Right?

Where basketball player signs a contract that gives his lawyer 40% when Mr. Esq. knows he should only get 10%
Where a 6 year old boy watches his mother sue his father for child support
He stares into a strangers brown eyes and wonders how that face could look just like his
Where a PO meets the guilty till proven innocent…..
Until innocent become guilty
Filthy
Right-less
Less than
Three fifths of a person
3/5ths of the men in prison
Yall though when slavery ended we became more than 3/5ths?

I’ll tell you where we don’t meet
We don’t meet in Law School
In a world where knowledge of the law provide the tools through the confines of this so called “JUSTICE SYSTEM”
SYSTEM yes
JUSTICE…it depends
Depends on who defends the rights you though you had
You don’t have shit…
Pause
You have what your lawyer knows (minus) your ignorance (minus) his ignorance (times) each previous charge
(Equals)… it depends

I walk into class my first day of class
The room filled with pink faces
Folks who see the world in black and white without the black
Issues in black and white, without the black
My blood pressure rises as a privileged woman raises her hand and implies that all black men who are not in suits are thugs
My brother is a thug…
My nephew is a thug……..
Where black people meet the law………

Where do black people meet the law?
In Us.. Law Students
Us… the privileged few with the knowledge to change
Educate
Inform
Inspire to rebuild that which has been done

Law School Blues
I hate to scare you
But to tell you the truth
Come September
You’ll have the law school blues

Oh, trust me its true
A 1L in law school
Equals the law school blues

Reading for civ pro
Language you don’t know
Think like a lawyer they’ll tell you
Law school blues is definitely going to get you

Torts is bizarre
Cases galore
The things people do
Then have the nerve to sue for
You think you can write
I assure you that you cannot
Your legal writing professor
Will fill your paper with red marks

Crim law is cool
Just like the real world
Sex drugs and murder is all that occurs
But don’t lose faith
You’ll make it through
How do I know?
Cus I’ve got the law school blues too!

Cedric D. Shine
1L Penn State Dickinson School of Law
http://nativenotes.wordpress.com

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8ABhatAfsA&hl=en]