Cianna Hope Reeves
Editor-in-Chief
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” It is a famed saying by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. that sadly continues to ring true today.
As I reflect on the harsh conditions many inmates have faced while being incarcerated in Mississippi prisons, I can only wonder how long. I can only imagine the cries for help but soon silenced by death. However, I just can’t seem to imagine the countless fatalities within walls supposedly created to groom and challenge the lives of men for better—not for worse.
When I think about the mass incarceration rates nationwide, yes, it’s mindboggling. America is the only country with the highest imprison rates than any other county, and guess who makes up that population? Black folk.
Black men, to be exact. Black women aren’t leading too far behind.
Where did we go wrong? What did we ever do? Why us? All of these questions, I ask myself, I ask others and there’s no specific answer. Statistics say, it’s our economic and social status. I can agree that it is about our environment, but how much of our environment is actually controlled by us black folk?
See, I am a strong believer that a man is a product of his own upbringing. People behave how they were raised—it is all learned behavior. However, we were born powerful. We had everything. Our own land. We were the rulers. We were the handcrafters; we were the hard workers, yet because of our strength in numbers and the power in our minds and hands, it became clear to others how to destroy black mankind—make us suffer.
That suffering was slavery, to lynching and now mass incarceration. Whips to water hoses to chains and prison bars.
Each of these practices continued to eat away at our minds, our character, causing us to forget the strength we once had and still have within.
The black communities and businesses that once thrived are only imaginations of what it used to be. The black stories shared today about our gifted lineage, are stories of hope to inspire, and the ill-treatment of prisoners nationwide, specifically in Mississippi, is a constant reminder of the story waiting to be written.
What will we do? How will we ignite change? Well, we have already begun.
They may take away our dignity, they may work hard to take away our pride, but one thing they will not do is silence the voice of the people—the voice of black folk.
To organizing marches at the state capitol, to headlining national news, to rallying with people from across the country, it’s all working. We are working.
The cries of no more have reached the necessary people, as Unit 29 at the state penitentiary in Parchman has been instructed to close down after the death of more than a dozen inmates in January 2020, alone.
This is what reclaiming our power looks like. This is what not stepping down looks like. This is the result of consistency.
If we continue to use our power, manifest our wants and make it happen, we will rise above.
If we continue to pour wisdom into black boys and girls, direct them on the right path and encourage them to embrace their creativity, we will rise above.
If we continue to fight for our rights, unite during trying times and successful moments, and believe that we were created to conquer, WE WILL RISE ABOVE.
The time is now. Mamba Mentality forever.
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