When I recited this to my homeroom teacher, who strongly believes that students MUST pledge to the United States of America, he was pretty much in shock.. Must say, it was completely worth it considering the fact all of my classmates have boycotted pledging to the flag every single morning. Respect and Freedom to live comes first, no matter race, sex, religion, etc.
Me: *takes the time to memorize all the lyrics and actually get really hyped about it* My teacher: "Sit down and stop talking the announcements are on."
I was on the slam team with Darius and Scout that went to CUPSI this year. The crazy part about this poem is, that was the short version. I originally wanted him to do the entire poem. It's like 7 minutes long. I'm so proud of my team!
God damn! This is my favorite kind of poem - one with too many amazing parts to single out any one particular line. I wanted to point out the best part, but....but damn, every part's the best part!
I was listening to the Cupsi playlist as I got dressed and had to pause. This man gave me the chills he spoke with such truth and understanding so much feeling that I began to cry. I have to younger brothers and it upsets me that they have to one day feel the way this young man feels. Their innocence and love will be one day taken by the land of the free their sight will be one day casted with the reality of this revelation. We are living in a revolution.
I really cried every time I hear those names it triggers this sadness and hatred and I don't know what to do. this poem was so great. amazing. hands down. I love it so much. I hope he won or at least came close to it.
"the media keeps calling these altercations - I don't understand why they're spelling 'execution' like that. I've never heard 'slaughter' pronounced that way."
Darius has always been an inspiration to me the moment I heard his writing about a year ago. He's an amazing man and I hope this can be just as successful as his poem with Scout because it is absolutely powerful.
For anyone who needs it, specifically for alignator3 whose comment I saw first. Do your translations as necessary. I apologize to Darius and any cooperating authors if I misinterpreted any part of the poem from grammar to punctuation or anything else, especially any misspellings of the honored names. I tried to look them up to make sure I got them right. "I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the-- Funny how hand positions change over time when saying those lines. Becomes less of a pledge of allegiance more of a proof to the officers that you are a citizen when they arrive on scene: August 28, 1955: Money, Mississippi: a little boy with a cannon for a heart is ejected from the barrel of a bridge. Bullets made confetti out of his face. They even tied an elephant-shaped cotton gin to his torso to sink him to the bottom. He had an entire circus act at the bottom of the river, but no one clapped when he emerged dead. I guess death wasn't part of the act. Emmett Till wasn't a victim. He was a magician changed the course of an entire civil rights movement, and all he had to do was snap--his neck. November 25, 2006: They rang Sean's bell-the kind of bell that rings-the kind of ring that you wear to a wedding-the kind of wedding he was on his way to--"He's got a gun!" They fired fifty shots into the car, killing Sean, and wounding the other two passengers. One of the officers, even stopped to reload, the way an artist stops in the middle of painting to admire his work. He fired 31 pastels into the car. Sean Bell was not a victim; he was a canvas. August 5, 2014, Beaver Creek, Ohio: a toy soldier by the name of John Crawford was relieved from duty in the action figure section of walmart. He walked around the way many PTSD patients do when relieved from battle, gripping his weapon tighter than his grip on reality. He awaited orders from his commanding officer of a mother on the phone that day. "Sir? Welcome to walmart, how may I help you?"-"Hold your position."-"Sir, could you stop waving your weapon like that?"-"Hold your position."-"Sir, I'm calling the police"-"Hold your position"-"Put down the weapon!"-"Hold your-" Bang! Whoever says you have the right to bear arms is lying, and he was a tiger let loose in a jungle full of poachers. That day, a mother lost her son. A father lost his junior the way a fraction loses its better half when multiplied correctly. There are multiple shell casings at the scene, none of which belonged to the BB gun. John Crawford was not a victim; he was a war hero with a gold star on his straightjacket. The media keeps calling these altercations. I don't understand why they're spelling 'execution' like that. I've never heard 'slaughter' pronounced that way. January 24, 2004, Brooklyn, New York: Timothy Stansbury. August 9, 2014, Ferguson, Missouri: Michael Brown. August 12, 2014, Los Angeles, California: Ezell Ford. November 2, 2014, Akron, Ohio: Raupheal Thomas. November 9, 2014, Ann Arbor, Michigan: Aura Rosser. November 22, 2014, Cleveland, Ohio: Tamir Rice. March 24, 2015, Cobb County, Georgia: Nicholas Thomas. I apologize if I have trouble pledging allegiance to a flag that has been determined to do us part, and leave our black bodies dangling at the altar. What hurts most about his poem is that half of those people were alive when I wrote it. --with liberty and justice for all."
This is perfect slam poetry. The metaphors are easy to grasp and not too far out there but paint an incredible picture at the same time. The delivery is spot on as well.
Im sorry to be that one but I will. So many whites are apologizing and saying we shouldnt see color. The issue isnt we dont want to be recognized as black. We want to be noticed for being black. To have it appreciated and to understand that we dont hate tou because we love ourselves. Because we value ourselves. The only way to describe my feelings is to say that, you will never understand our feelings. One because you will never experience it the way we do. Two because we are just black people to you all. Not just people. I dont even have the words to describe what i mean at the moment but watch "A time to kill" pay attention to the conversations, to the social things. See how for us, its hard to trust the police, the government because the KKK has no identifying qualities. The ones who teach us, although it isnt blatant, that we contributed to your burden. Not that you (I obviously don't mean all or presently but it does happen) stepped on our backs to make yourself see the heavens.
Poem left me utterly speechless and crying. I live in Britain and am constantly furious about the ongoing slaughter and killings in America but feel unable to do anything about it. I'll never understand how someone can treat someone differently because of a colour. It never fails to sicken me and i cannot wait until the day when we can all, as humans, realise that we are all just one race.
It's always hard to hear the terrible things done in your country, but to hear your state, your city makes it so much worse. To hear that something so horrible happened where you grew up, where you live, the place you love. The beautiful painting in your mind of your state, your city, splashed with red.
As a frenchy speaking and understanding pretty well, but not perfectly, english, an american dude speaking this fast is really hard to understand ! Do we have the original written poem somewhere ?
"the media calls it altercation I don't know why they are spelling execution like that."
now that is poetry.
+jsclarke16 That part sent shivers through my body.
I never heard slaughter pronounced that way...I died during this part as well
Powerful!
"One of the officers even stopped to reload, the way a painter stops in the middle of painting to admire his work.."
My God!!!
"The worst part about this poem, is half these people were alive when I wrote it."
"The media keeps calling them altercations, I don't understand why the spell execution that way, I've never heard slaughter pronounced that way"
When I recited this to my homeroom teacher, who strongly believes that students MUST pledge to the United States of America, he was pretty much in shock.. Must say, it was completely worth it considering the fact all of my classmates have boycotted pledging to the flag every single morning. Respect and Freedom to live comes first, no matter race, sex, religion, etc.
+Cassandra Contreras Congratulations for speaking out!
you have serious balls..... I LOVE YOU!!!
Cassandra Contreras same. I don't stand for the pledge of allegiance
Me: *takes the time to memorize all the lyrics and actually get really hyped about it*
My teacher: "Sit down and stop talking the announcements are on."
brought tears to my eyes when he said " the worst part about this poem is that half of the people were alive when i wrote it."
5 years later .. nothing’s changed. this spoken word is very much still relevant.
As a criminal Justice Major at an HBCU this inspires me to study harder
Respect, keep grinding!
I was on the slam team with Darius and Scout that went to CUPSI this year. The crazy part about this poem is, that was the short version. I originally wanted him to do the entire poem. It's like 7 minutes long. I'm so proud of my team!
Damn, lucky man. I wish I could go to CUPSI but
I don't have a team at my college.
Jasmin Proctor what school do you go to?
What is CUPSI?
God damn! This is my favorite kind of poem - one with too many amazing parts to single out any one particular line. I wanted to point out the best part, but....but damn, every part's the best part!
I like "they keep calling them altercations I never seen execution spelled like that"
I saw him in Kroger today. he's so humble and a sweetheart. I had a fan girl moment when I saw him.
I was listening to the Cupsi playlist as I got dressed and had to pause. This man gave me the chills he spoke with such truth and understanding so much feeling that I began to cry. I have to younger brothers and it upsets me that they have to one day feel the way this young man feels. Their innocence and love will be one day taken by the land of the free their sight will be one day casted with the reality of this revelation. We are living in a revolution.
I really cried every time I hear those names it triggers this sadness and hatred and I don't know what to do. this poem was so great. amazing. hands down. I love it so much. I hope he won or at least came close to it.
I love how powerful ever word was made to make you understand 100% the meaning behind them 😮😮
"the media keeps calling these altercations - I don't understand why they're spelling 'execution' like that. I've never heard 'slaughter' pronounced that way."
Darius has always been an inspiration to me the moment I heard his writing about a year ago. He's an amazing man and I hope this can be just as successful as his poem with Scout because it is absolutely powerful.
July 13th Hempstead,Texas. Sandra Bland #sayhername #blacklivesmatter
For anyone who needs it, specifically for alignator3 whose comment I saw first. Do your translations as necessary. I apologize to Darius and any cooperating authors if I misinterpreted any part of the poem from grammar to punctuation or anything else, especially any misspellings of the honored names. I tried to look them up to make sure I got them right.
"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the--
Funny how hand positions change over time when saying those lines. Becomes less of a pledge of allegiance more of a proof to the officers that you are a citizen when they arrive on scene:
August 28, 1955: Money, Mississippi: a little boy with a cannon for a heart is ejected from the barrel of a bridge. Bullets made confetti out of his face. They even tied an elephant-shaped cotton gin to his torso to sink him to the bottom. He had an entire circus act at the bottom of the river, but no one clapped when he emerged dead. I guess death wasn't part of the act. Emmett Till wasn't a victim. He was a magician
changed the course of an entire civil rights movement, and all he had to do was snap--his neck.
November 25, 2006: They rang Sean's bell-the kind of bell that rings-the kind of ring that you wear to a wedding-the kind of wedding he was on his way to--"He's got a gun!" They fired fifty shots into the car, killing Sean, and wounding the other two passengers. One of the officers, even stopped to reload, the way an artist stops in the middle of painting to admire his work. He fired 31 pastels into the car. Sean Bell was not a victim; he was a canvas.
August 5, 2014, Beaver Creek, Ohio: a toy soldier by the name of John Crawford was relieved from duty in the action figure section of walmart. He walked around the way many PTSD patients do when relieved from battle, gripping his weapon tighter than his grip on reality. He awaited orders from his commanding officer of a mother on the phone that day.
"Sir? Welcome to walmart, how may I help you?"-"Hold your position."-"Sir, could you stop waving your weapon like that?"-"Hold your position."-"Sir, I'm calling the police"-"Hold your position"-"Put down the weapon!"-"Hold your-" Bang!
Whoever says you have the right to bear arms is lying, and he was a tiger let loose in a jungle full of poachers. That day, a mother lost her son. A father lost his junior the way a fraction loses its better half when multiplied correctly. There are multiple shell casings at the scene, none of which belonged to the BB gun. John Crawford was not a victim; he was a war hero with a gold star on his straightjacket.
The media keeps calling these altercations. I don't understand why they're spelling 'execution' like that. I've never heard 'slaughter' pronounced that way.
January 24, 2004, Brooklyn, New York: Timothy Stansbury.
August 9, 2014, Ferguson, Missouri: Michael Brown.
August 12, 2014, Los Angeles, California: Ezell Ford.
November 2, 2014, Akron, Ohio: Raupheal Thomas.
November 9, 2014, Ann Arbor, Michigan: Aura Rosser.
November 22, 2014, Cleveland, Ohio: Tamir Rice.
March 24, 2015, Cobb County, Georgia: Nicholas Thomas.
I apologize if I have trouble pledging allegiance to a flag that has been determined to do us part, and leave our black bodies dangling at the altar. What hurts most about his poem is that half of those people were alive when I wrote it.
--with liberty and justice for all."
chills.
Why doesn't this have more views? This is so powerful and so important.
I get chills every time I watch.
The last minute gave me chills... He's so talented.
Wow. No words can describe the emotion in this poem. So real and raw.
This is perfect slam poetry. The metaphors are easy to grasp and not too far out there but paint an incredible picture at the same time. The delivery is spot on as well.
I feel the pain, the anger, the sorrow. I feel everything as it resonates with me so much.
Those who lost their lives will never be forgotten RIP
literally got chills down my whole body
Preach Young Man... this is Education at IT'S FINEST!!!
I'm in tears.
This gave me chills.
That was amazing and beautiful and it made my cry and I'm speechless
I love his poems so much... My favorite was 'Lost Voices' with... crap forgot her name... but yeah....
Scout Bostly
Thanks
amazing poem even better the second time you hear it
Im sorry to be that one but I will. So many whites are apologizing and saying we shouldnt see color. The issue isnt we dont want to be recognized as black. We want to be noticed for being black. To have it appreciated and to understand that we dont hate tou because we love ourselves. Because we value ourselves. The only way to describe my feelings is to say that, you will never understand our feelings. One because you will never experience it the way we do. Two because we are just black people to you all. Not just people. I dont even have the words to describe what i mean at the moment but watch "A time to kill" pay attention to the conversations, to the social things. See how for us, its hard to trust the police, the government because the KKK has no identifying qualities. The ones who teach us, although it isnt blatant, that we contributed to your burden. Not that you (I obviously don't mean all or presently but it does happen) stepped on our backs to make yourself see the heavens.
Wow. Just wow. I got the chills. This poem is beyond amazing.
Keep following your bliss Darius Simpson.
I saw him live last week. He's so amazing and talented
God damn
Poem left me utterly speechless and crying. I live in Britain and am constantly furious about the ongoing slaughter and killings in America but feel unable to do anything about it. I'll never understand how someone can treat someone differently because of a colour. It never fails to sicken me and i cannot wait until the day when we can all, as humans, realise that we are all just one race.
So powerful and beautifully written
Beautiful work, we all need to unite and make this country a better place.
The goosebumps don't stop
🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏
So much respect
Man, I am just speechless!
I never seen so much beautiful in one poem 💖✨
In tears
speechless.
wow i'm in tears
It's always hard to hear the terrible things done in your country, but to hear your state, your city makes it so much worse. To hear that something so horrible happened where you grew up, where you live, the place you love. The beautiful painting in your mind of your state, your city, splashed with red.
Chills
👏 this deserves all the likes.
Wow. That was incredible
I saw a longer version of this performance on a Ted talk and the list of names he uses on that version is even longer. So sad. That hurt so much.
this is amazing thank you
I watch this at least twice a week
This was so amazing
Brought me to actual tears
Damn. Just damn.
DAMN!
Beautiful
I don't think I've ever watched a performance that I didn't like on Button Poetry...
As a frenchy speaking and understanding pretty well, but not perfectly, english, an american dude speaking this fast is really hard to understand ! Do we have the original written poem somewhere ?
I'm pretty sure that they'll add subtitles soon.
I hope so ! Because when I understand all the things they say, damn I'm always shedding a tear...
WOW ...
Liked this before it ended
ouuuccch
Wow, he’s on some facts.
fuck yes
Wow
did he say Cobb county Georgia that's where I'm from, this is a sad sad world this is Why I stopped pledging aligence at school
Hardcore
this is so upsetting...cuz it's true. we claim to be the greatest nation on Earth but this stuff speaks another truth
I don't even do the pledge cause .... Yeah
that's a bad man
Is this channel all crybaby lib poetry?
Chills
wow
wow