CRMC, Kwame Alexander Release Community Poem After Jury Convicts Former Police Officer of George Floyd鈥檚 Murder
MONTGOMERY, Ala. 鈥� The Civil Rights Memorial Center (CRMC), in partnership with New York Times best-selling author Kwame Alexander, released a national community-led poem today following the guilty verdict in the murder trial of a former Minneapolis police officer charged with killing George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man. 听
The poem, titled a 鈥淎 Civil Community,鈥� will become a new exhibit featured inside the CRMC when it reopens at the end of July with limited capacity. It temporarily closed last March in response to the global COVID-19 health crisis.
鈥淭his piece is a sort of testimony, a recognition on the momentous day after,鈥� said Alexander. 鈥淧eople from all walks of life wrote poems, sharing their vision for America the beautiful. I am proud to have been a part of this project and look forward to it being on display when the Civil Rights Memorial Center reopens later this year.鈥�
The CRMC asked Alexander to curate a community poem, just as he had done after the murder of in February 2020, as part of several renovations and updates planned for the Montgomery-based interpretive center which tells the stories of individuals who died in the struggle for freedom during the modern civil rights movement. Earlier this year, the CRMC and Alexander invited people across the United States to submit an original poem that began with the words 鈥淩emember鈥� or 鈥淚f you鈥� to express their thoughts and feelings about racial justice and human rights today.
Students, teachers, parents and children across the country contributed nearly 1,000 poems for the project. Alexander took lines from select poems to create a single community poem.
鈥淚 am very proud of what we created together as a community,鈥� said Tafeni English, director of the CRMC. 鈥淲e hope this poem will inspire people of all backgrounds, just as it inspires us, to stand in the truth of this moment and continue to fight for justice and freedom for all people.鈥�
鈥淎 Civil Community鈥� will be displayed in the final gallery of the CRMC when it reopens later this year to offer visitors a moment of reflection at the end of their tours. The full text of the poem is available below.
A Civil Community
Remember our people
The dreamers.
The Browns and the Blacks
The ones who built bridges from inland to coast.
The ones who fought for justice and freedom.
The ones who couldn't be silenced鈥攖he hollering
of their heartbeat,
the hope in their words.
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Remember Martin
Remember Assata
reaching beyond
that plantation haze,
sword-lilies blossoming
during our darkest times.
Sparrows singing
our victory song.
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This is for the ones who can no longer sing
for themselves
for George Jackson
and George Floyd
for Lieutenant Colonel Lemuel Penn
and Breonna Taylor
For Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair,
Carole Robertson and Cynthia Wesley
for Emmett Louis Till
and Tamir Rice
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This is for the summer streets
that once held our children鈥檚 laughs
now turned to gunshots
and mourning wails.
For the black lives
fired up
who can鈥檛 take no more.
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Remember听before your stores burned down,
you looted our mothers鈥� wombs.
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Remember the middle passage
Remember the imperfect laws
Remember Selma
the churches bombed
the fire burning our souls
the Strange Fruit swinging above a faulted constitution
the bodies and souls left to harden,
the back of the bus
the walk of a million miles
just to get to one place
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This is for the faithful
and the fearless
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for Rosa Parks birthing a dream
for Harriet following that North star into possibilities,
for Paul Robeson鈥檚 soulful, deep,听booming bass,
echoing like a cannon
shot in the still winter air
singing the spirit
climbing a mountain
rafting a river
sailing the seas
counting every one of us
who has not drowned
who has ever stood up.
We are an ocean.
Some of us, ripples,
others, waves.
We carry the boat
that heads into the horizon,
the moon guiding us
to a new dawn.
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This for the Tuskegee Airmen鈥檚 heraldry
and Amanda Gorman鈥檚 yellow coat of arms
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This is for Barack Obama鈥檚 audacity
and Rabbi Heschel鈥檚 faith
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If you want to grow and understand
what it means to be human
remember we are one soul,
rooted in the same soil,
moving toward sky.
Soaring high.
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When you hear the shouts of protest,
the feet marching,
the hands clapping
Embrace our knots.
Love our shades.
See us.
Beautiful black birds cropped
and culled
by the cruel night
of an alabaster storm.
Remember, we are singing
about struggle and strife
the caustic stain of stolen legacies
reminding us
to never forget
these stories
must be told
reminding us
to speak the truth
and say it loud.
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Remember violence is a cycle,
but so is peace.
That is what we are fighting for
An end to chaos
A new birth of freedom
The ocean is our goal.
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Grasp it
with your fingers clenched
in tight fists of unison
not to strike a brawl
but to tear down the wall
of division.
Grasp 鈥�your鈥� rights
Grasp America
the beautiful.
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This country is a house
This world, a village.
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If we are to be a civil community
let us come in unity
Rise up out of the blue
Rise up into the light
Rise up out of the waters
Rise up into the sun
Rise up through the love
Rise up, reach for the freedom
Know that you are good enough
to end the rage
to turn the page
to stand with pride
to stand with peace
to lift your voice
to open your eyes
to rise
up
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Together.
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Compiled by Kwame Alexander
4/19/2021
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