Featured photo: Protesters raise their fists at a Fred Cox Jr. rally in High Point. (photo by Carolyn de Berry)
Sonya Massey should still be alive;
she held a pot of water and called out for Jesus;
she was 36 years young.
Marcus Deon Smith should still be alive;
he called for help, “Please, help me sir,” he said;
he was 38 years young.
John Neville should still be alive;
he struggled on the ground and gasped, “I can’t breathe,” five months and three weeks before George Floyd did too;
he was 56 years young.
Fred Cox Jr. should still be alive;
he ran towards a church, sheltering others as he fled;
he was 18 years young.
Joseph Lopez Jr. should still be alive;
he was emerging unarmed from a shed; “I’m coming, I’m coming,” he said;
he was 29 years young.
Nasanto Crenshaw should still be alive;
he sat in the driver’s seat, turning the steering wheel;
he was 17 years young.
Graham Roberson should still be alive;
he held a BB gun and a toy gun;
he was 51 years young.
Ernesto Ruiz should still be alive;
he wielded a machete, not a gun;
he was 41 years young.
Gerald Pinckney should still be alive;
he suffered from PTSD and called the police on himself;
he was 31 years young.
Titus Kopp should still be alive;
he had a knife and was threatening suicide;
he was 28 years young.
The average lifespan in the US is 76 years old;
combined, the police have stolen 415 years of their lives;
their motto is to “protect and serve;”
but we know now that is a lie.
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