My Government Means to Kill Me

by Rasheed Newson

I found the isolation to be more painful than the physical abuse. No love letter; no slow dances; no kisses—I grew up starved for affection.

“You think the Black family was destroyed by vice, and that’s a good play for an elderly white man because it’s safer than looking in a mirror. What wrecked the Black family was white oppression, white political choices, white violence, white men. The likes of you did more damage to us than crack rocks. I think the Black community actually deserves credit for not being driven into total madness. We have survived your attempted genocide.”

Robber barons, political overlords, and other powerful devils can reign with impunity for decades, and the terror they inflict on those of us beneath them can feel eternal. Yet there is one stone that will slay them all: time. Devils grow old, and the world around them eventually exceeds their understanding and control. Never forget that. Never let them forget it.