Rashad Rayford: “This Fire”

This Fire

This Fire has been burning since Columbus
Been burning since Slave Patrols
Became Police Patrols (one in the same)
Been burning since they burned us alive at picnics
Used our skin as lampshades
Cant hide in the shade and hope for a cool breeze to calm us
You tried to fire bomb us
Back of the bus
Sorry, no more jobs us
From sharecropping to red lining
This Fire has been feverishly burning
for decades,
It put on a new suit and hid behind some Amendments but it’s the same fire
Burning hot as Hades,
America you can’t start a fire then hide your hands,
America has been a powder keg since it’s inception,
America has always tried to place Band-Aids
On wounds that needed reconstructive surgery
400 years of free labor will break the strongest Man’s back
And what you see is the people liberating it back
Release the funds back to the people
Release the funds back to the people
This is I’ve had it up to here times 400
This is I’m not clocking out for lunch,
I’m just going
This is cold water in fresh kool-aide,
What I’m saying is, this is breaking all the rules,
This is fish grease on your hands
Find truth in our demands
Release the funds back to the people
Release the funds back to the people

This is Not a test.
And yes that’s a fire alarm you here ringing
This fire is gonna keep singing
Until it singes everything
This is Kerry Washington,
Little Fires Everywhere, America.
The people are coming and the vision is clear.
Move or be burned.

What are you looking for?