I trust you enjoyed mellowing in the meadow, haijin. Congratulations to last week’s contributors:

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Ultreya!

The list above is too long. The grief is too real. Men and women–others’ sons and daughters, mothers and fathers–died violently at the hands of the police. In nearly every case, the officers involved in the killing of these men and women have not been prosecuted for murder or even manslaughter. Some haven’t even been fired.

All because the men and women are Black, and the police that killed them, overwhelmingly white.

George Floyd’s death under the knees of officer Derek Chauvin has sparked national and international protests. Many have become violent, resulting in riots, looting, and property damage. Some will shift the story away from the injustice that led to the protests, and focus instead on the violence. Do not let them.

Black people make up 13% of the US population, and yet they account for 26% of people killed in encounters with the police. A Black man or woman is four times more likely to die from police violence than a white man or woman. Unfortunately, there is a great resistance to change. the Black Lives Matter movement was shouted down by “All Lives Matter” folk (themselves almost entirely white). When celebrities like former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick took a knee during the singing of the national anthem, he sparked anger and outrage (mostly from white people) that resulted in his exclusion from professional football. It seems that no type of protest for preserving Black people’s lives from police violence ever meets with society’s approval.

Let us not overlook this injustice! That list is too long! If we do nothing, that list will only grow. If we call ourselves a civilization in which all are equal, we must stand for justice!

This week, write the #haikai poem of your choice (haiku, senryu, haibun, tanka, haiga, renga, etc.) about justice, particularly justice for Black people that continually endure disproportionate violence from the police.

As always:

Here’s how the challenge works:

1. write the haikai poem of your choice.
2. post the link of your post to Mister Linky.
3. pingback by posting the link to the challenge on your site.
4. read and comment on other contributors’ posts.

(with apologies to Pope St. John Paul II) If we want peace, let us work for justice, haijin!