Kevin Wright’s poignant spoken word poem on race.
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The Good Men Project Sports asked why we run?
In this feature series, we share your answers.
This is from Kevin Wright:
As a kid, my friends and I would run anytime we heard police sirens
One day, we heard them, and of course, we ran
That day, the police officers caught up to us and asked “Why did you run?”
Personally, I couldn’t give an answer
But now I have an answer…
I run to not be your statistic
Because you want me to run the path of your stereotypes
I run in the direction of opportunity
Because you want me to run in the direction of injustice
I run to not have my culture be painted as a monolith
Because you want it to run in unison as a community that can’t succeed
I run for black men to go to places like Penn State
While you advocate for more of them to go to the state pen
I run for those black lives that were taken too soon
I run to prove I am not your negro, your hoodlum, or your coon
As a teenager, my friends and I would run anytime we heard police sirens
One day, we heard them, and of course, we ran
That day, the police officers caught up to us and asked “Why did you run?”
Personally, I couldn’t give an answer
But things changed…
I was told to follow my dreams
But I run because I’m swiftly chasing them
For some of us, a dream is all we have
But I run to make those dreams a reality
You want me to run in a world that debates whether the glass is half empty or half full
But I choose to run in a world that addresses who’s pouring the water
I run, I run, I run
I’m tired…
My mother told me life is not a bakery
But people still choose to sugarcoat the truth
Will I ever stop running?
As a kid, I ran out of fear
But times have changed
As an adult, why I run is more clear
I was expected to run to failure
I was expected to have it be the end of the chapter
But my story continued, because I kept running
My skills are now to a higher degree; masters
I used to run anytime I heard police sirens
One day, I heard them, but didn’t run
The police officer told me “Thank you for not running, that means you’re strong.”
I told the police officer, “I’m done running, and besides, I’ve done nothing wrong.”
I proudly walked away…
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Browse the over thirty posts we have thus far Good Men Project Sports’ Why We Run Series here.
#35: Unfinished Business <<
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Please send us your submissions through our online submissions portal, by clicking on the link below:
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Photo Credit: Associated Press/File