A. Philip Randolph, president of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters and the most widely known spokesperson for black working-class interests in the United States, met with Franklin D. Roosevelt and his administration to demand he sign an executive order banning discrimination against black workers in the defense industry. Randolph threatened to bring tens of thousands of marchers to Washington, D.C. On June 25, 1941, days before the march was to occur, Roosevelt issued Executive Order 8802, which barred government agencies and federal contractors from refusing employment in industries engaged in defense production on the basis of race, creed, color, or national origin. It was the first Presidential decree issued on race since Reconstruction. The order required the armed services, including the Marine Corps, to recruit and enlist African Americans.
Now That The Lights Are Out
Now that the lights are out
warm and dark
the kids long gone
so is she
I’d rather sleep in the middle
between fetal
and spread eagle
not on my side
a back would be turned
there’s been enough of that.
Covered cold shoulders
pretended to be asleep
needed to work late
microwaved affection
pretended dinner.
Now that it’s all gone
I can hold closed eyes
hollar like church singing
find peace in what’s left.
I promise not to cut my feet.
Still Lynching
50 years after MLK’s murder, Blacks are killed and Americans refuse to accept it is driven by racism. Killings committed by the police are justified by the courts. From Nobel Peace Prize to President, when will we be worthy?
