This is for the rabble-rousers
For every time Malcolm X stepped on toes
So no negro would ever again have to be passive
For every Fanny Lou Hamer whose resistance couldn't be silenced by violence
For every Stokely Carmichael
Stabbing the sky with a gloved fistful of tears that will no longer be ignored
This is for the radicals
Fluent in protest and dissent
Who dance like a revolution
Harlem shaking off the shackles of oppression
Who breathe like King's dreams and Confedrate nightmares
This is for the rebels
For every Che Guevara that could never be silenced b/c they hold no grudge with death
For every Jesse Washington they try to burn at the lynching tree
Unaware that a rebel spirit is a blaze that can't be extinguished
This is for the Zapatistas
Who refuse to let their destinies be held hostage by the tyranny of the status quo
For every Black woman who's lost her son to police violence but regained her spirit through chanting Black lives matter
For every Mandela stuffed into a jail cell of conformity simply for believing in the audacity of compassion
For every Moses who throws snakes of defiance towards men who play God
Crossing seas of opposition until the promised land is reached
We're still not there
We still need you
If you've ever questioned God
Not for lack of faith
But for the backbone to bear to your cross
If you've ever stayed out past the street light of complacency
Skipping dinner in exchange for a hunger of justice
If you've ever dived into the deep end of struggle not knowing how to swim but refusing their floaties of gradualism
The world needs you to stir the winds of resistance
Otherwise enslavement is inevitable
This is a tribute to the radicals
Creating the chaos necessary for a better tomorrow
For every time Malcolm X stepped on toes
So no negro would ever again have to be passive
For every Fanny Lou Hamer whose resistance couldn't be silenced by violence
For every Stokely Carmichael
Stabbing the sky with a gloved fistful of tears that will no longer be ignored
This is for the radicals
Fluent in protest and dissent
Who dance like a revolution
Harlem shaking off the shackles of oppression
Who breathe like King's dreams and Confedrate nightmares
This is for the rebels
For every Che Guevara that could never be silenced b/c they hold no grudge with death
For every Jesse Washington they try to burn at the lynching tree
Unaware that a rebel spirit is a blaze that can't be extinguished
This is for the Zapatistas
Who refuse to let their destinies be held hostage by the tyranny of the status quo
For every Black woman who's lost her son to police violence but regained her spirit through chanting Black lives matter
For every Mandela stuffed into a jail cell of conformity simply for believing in the audacity of compassion
For every Moses who throws snakes of defiance towards men who play God
Crossing seas of opposition until the promised land is reached
We're still not there
We still need you
If you've ever questioned God
Not for lack of faith
But for the backbone to bear to your cross
If you've ever stayed out past the street light of complacency
Skipping dinner in exchange for a hunger of justice
If you've ever dived into the deep end of struggle not knowing how to swim but refusing their floaties of gradualism
The world needs you to stir the winds of resistance
Otherwise enslavement is inevitable
This is a tribute to the radicals
Creating the chaos necessary for a better tomorrow
Joshua Everett is from Leeds, Alabama and recently graduated from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. He started both writing and performing to try and impress two different women at different points in his life. He's been swept up in a love affair with poetry ever since. His writing ranges in topics from love to racism to awkwardly stumbling through young adulthood. Music has strong influences on his writing, especially hip-hop, jazz, and soul. The goal of his writing is to infuse these distinct, yet connected African-American art forms to make work that people can really feel. He currently works as a community organizer in Jacksonville, Florida with Interfaith Coalition for Action Reconciliation and Empowerment (I.C.A.R.E).
