Ways to Disappear

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On June 18, 2015 I wrote a poem entitled "We Can't Have Nothing" as a response to the Charleston SC shooting of black parishioners by White supremacist Dylan Roof. The poem struck a chord with many people and within 48 hours the poem went viral, was shared 1467 times and was picked up by the progressive online journal Colorlines, which gave it even more circulation. .Since then, the poem has been anthologized in "Resisting Arrest: Poems to Stretch the Sky" by  Jacar Press, where it has been read and performed by others in readings up and down the east coast to both support the publication and  help fund a scholarship administered by the Urban Leauge. In addition to publication, in early 2016 I was approached by Dance Professor Amie Dowling, who asked if she could adapt my poem to work within a larger dance performance piece called "16 Ways to Disappear" developed by the San Quentin Arts Ensemble of San Quentin Prison and San Bruno Jail Arts Ensemble. The performance was in December and I have enclosed a link to the full performance of "16 Ways to Disappear". My poem is performed at the 21:10 mark and ends at the 23:35 mark. Here is the link to  "Ways to Disappear".