Voting isn’t enough to change America.
There’s been a discussion about Trump's voter turnout over the last few days. It’s not difficult to find an article asking how the president managed to add millions of votes to his total from 2016. I’ve asked this question myself, and I’ve been tempted to write about his massive election turnout. Yes, it’s not the 77 million votes Biden received, but the incumbent's number is nothing to glaze over. It speaks volumes about how divided a country we are. …
A poem about historical sacrifice.
I honor all vets of all races, creeds, sexual orientations, and gender. However, I wrote this poem to honor the historical black soldier who fought for a country they loved only to return and find a system that systematically lynched and murdered them. It’s of particular note that no black soldier received the Medal of Honor after WW2. In 1997 President Bill Clinton awarded those well-deserved medals.
Black soldiers fought in silence
For a country that hated the melanin
Pick up rifles and fought for independence
But it wasn’t theirs
Left in chains while liberation
disappeared on the fallacy of all men created…
A poem plus commentary.
Our only hope is to control the vote.
Medgar Evers- Civil and Voting Rights Activist
Today my wife and I exercised our right to vote. A privilege denied to African Americans for decades before the Voting Rights Act was passed. I thought about the blood spilled so that my children and I can do something so simple-vote.
It’s a right some take for granted because it’s always been there. I am too young to remember the fights, marches, and protests of the sixties. However, it’s not lost on me the cost paid to vote if I so chose. …
A poem about the POTUS and COVID-19
In the span of 7 months, over 220,000 fellow Americans have died. It's over 1 million across the globe. As of July, the United States had 25 percent of all the COVID 19 cases globally but only 4 percent of the world’s population.
However, the president continues to strut across the thousands of dead bodies on his watch. He has lied and denied science for months when in fact, he told Bob Woodward COVID was deadly.
On purpose, he played down the pandemic while families buried, in some cases, multiple family members. …
A poem and commentary.
The other day I was standing in line at a local meat market when I noticed a young African American father with his daughter. He was buying her crab legs. I am sure it was her birthday, and he wanted to treat his little girl with a special meal. He was attentive, and she was the center of his attention. It was a beautiful scene.
However, as I stood there watching this young father, I thought about all he probably wants for his black daughter. I am sure he wants her to have every opportunity to succeed.
She looked so innocent with her father. Not a care in the world because all she wanted was to be in his presence. However, in the same thought, I considered how he would be required to destroy that innocence and explain how the world treats black females. …
It’s basically a Haiku but with a social justice theme.
Racism stains the land
Bloody tears from hollow eyes
Yet the soul is full
Injustice ignored
Lips spewing false promises
Such lazy privilege
Chains of oppression
vote to tighten chain on neck
yet I am still here
Estacious(Charles White) is a 23-year educator. He began writing over 25 years ago. His work experience encompasses managing schools and teaching a variety of subjects. His passions are poetry, short fiction, playwrighting, and non-fiction. He won one of six prizes in the Rockford play festival for his play “Incarcerated Christmas.” He is married with three children and a native of New Orleans. Email: estaciousw1914@yahoo.com
Why Trump needs to accept defeat.
In life, there are wins and losses. Chances are we lose more than we win, but most of us take our losses like a mature human being. It’s tough accepting a loss. I don’t think anyone would state the experience was comfortable to accept, but they did.
We must move on when we are on the losing side. When we try to hang on in defeat, it makes us look like a child who lost their favorite ball. Spinning into fits of emotion that, in my view, diminishes a person’s character. …
Wearing a mask isn’t political it's science.
When did science become vilified? We see a thousand people dying each day from a virus we can mitigate. We must wash our hands, social distance, and wear a mask.
Three easy things we can do without thinking. Science has proved it. A recent study stated that only 49 percent of Americans wear a mask. It continued by highlighting that if we raised that number to over 90 percent, we could save 100,000 lives.
The study isn’t perfect, but it does offer insight into the impact of mask-wearing. Two simple loops around the ears could save someone’s loved one. …
The last few months have been difficult. It’s tough to write anything of substance. Sometimes it seems the world is too big for my words. I wonder how my scribblings can do it justice. It seems too big for the pen, pad, or computer screen.
However, as writers, our mission is to blend letters and syllables to explain what’s going on? Isn’t part of our DNA to try and find some light and offer it to our readers? Right now, it’s dark across the globe as COVID- 19 eats and destroys families. …
His legacy will inspire Generations.
It’s taken me weeks to write this story about Chadwick Boseman. Honestly, the state of the world has dampened my enthusiasm to write. Usually, for me, its the opposite. I can’t wait to write my commentary on the state of matters. However, now I am mentally and spiritually drained. It isn’t easy finding happiness or positivity.
When Boseman died, something in me wilted. A young man was taken from us by an insidious disease that devastates thousands of families a year. Black Americans are 20 percent more likely to die from colorectal cancer than any other race in America. The man known for playing iconic roles had a limited chance of surviving a stage three cancer diagnosis. …
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