A tear is not just a tear ; it is a river of opposition and opportunity!

A walk is not just a walk; it is a march in the midst of fear.

Signs are not just signs; they compose a book of solidarity written with words dripping in blood.

A yell is not just a yell; a cuss word is not just a curse; it is a scream laced in Anguish!

Their pain is not just their pain; it is the bursting of our hearts from lives that have been senselessly loss.

A hand in cuffs is not just a hand in cuffs; it is a mind locking itself around the reverberation of the names of those who died unjustly…those who died under the cloak of racism.

Peace…is not just peace; it is a sound, a feeling, a release; it is the quiet found within the thunder of a heartbeat.

Shelter is not just shelter; it is lying awake in prayer beneath the cover of darkness.

Freedom is not just freedom; it is the peaceful protests of the weary, the tired, the disgusted and the hope of a new and color-blind generation!

The “peaceful protesters” heard you my friend when you whispered,

“I – can’t – breathe!”

We hear you…STILL.

By: Daphne Knox McClain