can anyone breathe by Lorraine Brooks

with a foot on their neck

or a knife in their back

or a gun in their face

or a chain on their feet


can anyone breathe

who cannot be taught to read

who cannot congregate in groups

who receive inferior healthcare

and who die in the streets


can anyone breathe

who earns less than their peers

or must live only where they are allowed

and cannot marry who they please

and thrown crumbs to eat?


can anyone breathe

when the government fails

and the men are in jails

and when chaos prevails

and the president tweets


but new breath is coming

new air in our lungs

a country suffocated by its own hatred

gasping and dying

is now on life support

building walls around itself

when the real poison is in its own veins.


can anyone breathe?

In the words of the greatest president of our lives…yes we can.

This Divabetic podcast is in solidarity with and dedicated to the Black Lives Matter movement for racial justice. We are making time to reflect,  share our feelings, listen and identify ways in which to fight for real and meaningful change. Guests include Lorraine Brooks, Patricia Addie-Gentle RN, CDE, Keith Anthony Fluitt, Leisa Chester Weir, and Jeff James.

Please consider donating to these organizations:

Campaign Zero, which is dedicated to ending police brutality in America through research-based strategies. LEARN MORE

Color of Change, which works to move decision makers in corporations and government to be more responsive to racial disparities. LEARN MORE

Equal Justice Initiative, which provides legal services to people who have been wrongly convicted, denied a fair trial, or abused in state jails and prisons. LEARN MORE

Black Lives Matter Podcast

June’s Divabetic podcast is in solidarity with and dedicated to the Black Lives Matter movement for racial justice on Tuesday, June 9, 2020, 6 PM, EST.

We are making time to reflect, share our feelings, listen and identify ways in which to fight for real and meaningful change. Guests include Lorraine Brooks, Patricia Addie-Gentle RN, CDE, Keith Anthony Fluitt, Leisa Chester-Weir, and Jeff James. Join the conversation and call in to our studio line: (347) 215-8551.

“I imagine one of the reasons people cling to their hates so stubbornly is because they sense, once hate is gone, they will be forced to deal with pain.” — James A. Baldwin

Ella Fitzgerald was not allowed to play at Mocambo because of her race. Then, one of her biggest fans made a telephone call that quite possibly changed the path of her career for good. 

https://www.instagram.com/p/B6GsbCdhoja/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

To help combat systemic racism, please consider donating to these organizations:

Campaign Zero, which is dedicated to ending police brutality in America through research-based strategies. LEARN MORE

Color of Change, which works to move decision makers in corporations and government to be more responsive to racial disparities. LEARN MORE

Equal Justice Initiative, which provides legal services to people who have been wrongly convicted, denied a fair trial, or abused in state jails and prisons. LEARN MORE

#BlackLivesMatter was founded in 2013 in response to the acquittal of Trayvon Martin’s murderer. Black Lives Matter Foundation, Inc is a global organization in the US, UK, and Canada, whose mission is to eradicate white supremacy and build local power to intervene in violence inflicted on Black communities by the state and vigilantes. By combating and countering acts of violence, creating space for Black imagination and innovation, and centering Black joy, we are winning immediate improvements in our lives.

TUNE N

Divabetic’s June podcast guest, Jeff James helped to create a Black Power Spotify playlist for Black Music Month.  “It reflects my feelings (activism-optimism),” states Jeff.

Cassandra Wilson recorded “Strange Fruit,” a protest against racism — specifically, the lynching of African-Americans in 2015. Her version takes on renewed purpose in light of the recent high-profile police killings of unarmed black men, and the Black Lives Matter movement which rose in their wake.