I cannot believe that today is the 20th anniversary of the L.A. rebellion. To commemorate the incident, I am sharing this poem by one of my favorite poets Lucille Clifton. Look for this and other poems about policing, violence and resistance in the next couple of weeks in a publication that I have developed.

4/30/92
For rodney king
By Lucille Clifton

so
the body
of one black man
is rag and stone
is mud
and blood
the body of one
black man
contains no life
worth loving
so the body
of one black man
is nobody
mama
mama
mamacita
is there no value
in this skin
mama
mama
if we are nothing
why
should we spare
the neighborhood
mama
mama
who will be next and
why should we save
the pictures