boy hey there black boy swinging from
the tree instead of whips and chains now
they just shoot me see you next time
with bulletproof skin they figured out a
new way to kill us again hands up don’t
shoot is what we say I can’t breathe
don’t kill me that way my spirit don’t
die God loves me tell the pearls of the
world and newborn babies Ferguson
Missouri an epidemic not a situation if
it’s not an epidemic for you that meters
not affecting you yet I bet if a group
killed countless people group like you
it would be an epidemic to you but hold
up stop in frisk this around the age
when I was old enough to go outside I
paid by myself
my mother said boy when you get stopped
by the police if you get stopped by the
peace because they do that sometimes
don’t do anything I might get you killed
or locked up in fact stay in this
neighborhood on this block in front of
this building
that’s it close to home baby and that’s
exactly where these broads are murdered
in their neighborhoods on their blocks
in front of their builders and close to
home this is poverty of a soul living in
a rough of pain how do you how do you
explain ripping the life of an unarmed
body and I don’t know what the same so I
begin to act by my name is Michael Erika
Oscar now lived in Ferguson Brooklyn and
Oakland living like them black boys do
die like them black boys do and they say
to five please don’t overreact
because black boys are under attack and
that’s mostly said by those who are not
black and I feel like I’m under attack
this is hard being human when you
started out as property
it’s hard being human when you’re the
anomaly
it’s hard being human you caught
minority understand it’s hard being
human and internet once you consider
just three-fifths of one see us as
heartbeats and that target seats and
they say just about black
boys or 200 kidnap girls or condemning
all the police in the world this is
about deconstructing systems of
oppression break away from the chains
unchecking our brazen sea in all humans
as you may turn down for what this gives
us every reason simply turn up let’s
sacrifice like unless our eyelashes let
them fly to the floor catch as much as I
can in my ass so that the dirt never
gets in yours come on now and sacrifice
that heart or is it uncomfortable
it’s privileged of right or is it
comfortable Ferguson Missouri
deconstruction of the myth they live in
a post-racial consensus see we either
work together or remain separate forever
not a moment but a movement how much how
much death does it take before we see
life they’ve been murdered black men
since Jesus Christ and the Lord said
black lives matter everybody matters not
just white bodies matter but when young
white bodies gets nest
everything is used to catch those Body
Snatchers but not kidnappers of black
and brown bodies it’s true check 1776
1812 of 1492 when white bodies leap from
rules remember black and brown bodies
fight suicide to recognize that darker
bodies get raped too just like black
bodies do but it seems to not matter
till happen to a white body but anybody
that’s hurt she have somebody alert a
body that can assist in the matter we
all matter when black and brown bodies
get hurt
instead her white bodies to us are those
bodies of rescued all I’m asking is if
somebody cream on every body that nobody
is a nobody that black brown and white
friends the family we need each other
now more than ever before
and we can do this if you would turn to
your neighbor something you’re still
looking at me turn to your neighbor you
may be an odd number three of you five
or seven that’s alright but turn to your
neighbor say to follow some you’re still
looking at me turn to your neighbor say
neighbor you are beautiful now your
response to me why thank you you’re not
now again return to your neighbor and
say neighbor we need each other to keep
each other free now say like you mainly
say we need each other
to keep each other free now bring it
back here we can do this if we are lit
friends that fail me now lit has all
kinds of meanings in the world but for
our purposes here today I use it as an
acronym it stands for love inclusion and
trust I mean you say love now we have
love that’s at the core everything that
means we don’t want it to fail we want
to nourish it you want to take care of
it that means we are one with it and we
will protect it and preserve it and make
sure that it survives and does great and
if there’s a challenge who will meet it
if it becomes complex you’ll work
through it and work with it because we
love it I mean you say inclusion now
inclusion
that’s our bond it’s what keeps us
together now raise your hand if you’ve
ever been left out of something leave
your hand raised if it felt good to be
left out so now we cannot recognize that
did not feel good how dare we leave
anyone out remember everyone our human
family needs that we need that now trust
I mean you say trust now trust that’s
the byproduct when love and inclusion
are present that you have trust that
means that you allow yourself to
recognize that you’re a part of
something much larger than yourself that
means that you feel valued that means
you have a voice that means you’re
willing to sacrifice for the greater
good so now when you have love inclusion
and Trust hope you are lit Trista from
that you say we are lit now that we let
let me ask you to do something else if
you would take your cell phones out if
you have one take your cell phones out
of it I know Ted folks said don’t take
it falls out I work this out with them
no one’s gonna snatch your phone
no one’s gonna tap you it’ll be all
right now if you work with the consent
everyone say consent
with the consent of the folks around you
if you work for the next couple of
seconds I invite you to take some
selfies go for it take selves with the
people around you but they can say go
for it go for it
selfies selfies take the selfies yes I
see you over there
yes all right here all right I’ll see
you over there taking the whole selfie
the whole room right here yes someone’s
getting the whole section right there
that is awesome
yes we’re in like selfie Wonderland now
okay
all right try to capture those final
immortalize moments now if you would put
your phones away if you allow yourselves
to recognize it there was a magic moment
that just took place we allowed our lips
Ness to reign supreme for a moment you
recognize love inclusion and Trust raise
your hand if you took a photo with
someone you didn’t know quite that well
Ann um look at that number of you did
the net for Jan’s day if I had simply
said you don’t find it strange to take a
photo with them might not happen nearly
the same way but the beauty of what just
happened that litmus that we allow to
reign supreme was that there were Red
Sox and Yankee fans taking photos
together they were New England Patriot
New York giant and Jets fans taking
photos together and over hold there were
Hillary supporters and Trump supporters
taking photos together
together we we have just demonstrated
the ability to be different and still
come together to have different beliefs
and still work together to be
politically on opposite sides and come
together work together have fun together
if we can get the rest of the globe to
be on this lignin it’ll be all for the
better don’t you agree I said don’t you
agree now the thing is how do we
communicate our ability to be lit as a
globe
how we how we communicate this knowing
that communication is not our Forte as
of late I say this because we are far
more digital than I ever wanted us to
become in fact the more digital we
become the more impersonal we are
towards each other our main source of
communication text messages and emails
the irony there is that about 70 to 80
percent of communication is nonverbal
so that means when we’re sending text
messages and emails we’re missing 70 to
80 percent of the context of the text we
are missing each other we’re missing
now that we figured out how to be lit
and we have light and friends to fill
when you have lights you’re providing it
in the darkest of places and that’s hard
to figure out how can we provide light
in the dark is a place so I came up with
this thing called the freedom team now
the freedom to if you would think of it
as two hands or a 10-point family that
works in any community and includes
students parents the educational system
local politicians local authorities
lawyers doctors clergy social media
specialists and folks they can do
restorative justice that come together
on behalf of the community not a purpose
of the freedom team is to preserve
freedom through unity in the community
and if anything ever happens in the
community that goes awry or that is
wonderful or at the same time is of bias
instead of trying to figure out who do
we call who can respond to this how do
we respond this this team of folks is
who does that it’s automatically in
place not only are they present when
called upon
but meets regularly as well the freedom
team again proactive reactive and
retroactive it works this is not just a
concept for it does already exist a
couple of miles from a we already have
one and we’re also building one right
here in Natick already started this
exists it can exist in your community it
can exist wherever you are trust me it
is very duplicate Abul and in fact we
have yet to become our best iteration of
ourselves as a human family but friends
and fam we can head in that trajectory
if you recognize the greatness that is
present right now and move forward you
understand with that family yes so with
that I’ll leave you with words of what
are the greatest of all time the one the
only Muhammad Ali and he would say this
every now and then to affirm his
identity his majesty and his strength he
would say I’m the greatest I said it
before the new I was don’t tell me I
can’t do something don’t tell me it’s
impossible don’t tell me I’m not the
great as I am double the greatest now
for every one of those eyes and that
quote for our purposes here today turn
that into a week we are double the
greatest and let me talk about that
where we for just a mo
we let’s be in love with we let’s be lit
with we we must be we we let’s be
connected to ourselves let us be
unapologetic for who we are for we are
the future we are driven by love and a
passion for solidarity in the human
community and it is frustrating
we’re lives and not valued therefore we
must never sever our efforts for peace
and equality friends and family if
you’re able to if you will please rise
to your feet if you were please rise to
your feet and that’s your answer if you
let me hear you say the problem and say
we are legs now you’re almost you let
the whole world hear and say we all
Lynch let me say let me say we are
double the greatest well that’s how we
are double the greatest isn’t gonna give
yourselves a round of applause let’s move forward in unity