on the E express a boy asks his mama a few things
(boy hums) (boy thoughtful)
why didn’t the slaves fight back?
what slaves?
why we ain’t fight back?
who said
we ain’t fight back?
but we was slaves.
not before we was slaves.
why they ain’t just shoot
the white people?
no guns.
what about knives
or scissors? no
knives or scissors.
what about poison
like on detective shows?
where they was gettin
poison from, boy?
the drug store.
(suck-teeth)
why they ain’t
use they hands?
who said they didn’t?
how they become
slaves then?
(silence)
would you let someone
slave you?
can you eat your banana?
how would you stop
someone from slaverin you—like
what if they helda gun
to your head? or my head?
that’s not gonna happen.
we should learn karate
just in case.
(eye-roll) (suck-teeth)
what chops and kicks
gonna do against bullets?
(takes boy’s banana peel)
(boy wipes mouth)
what if banana peels
was a weapon?
(suck-teeth) how?
booby trap the apartment
with peels
and the bad guy slips
Artist: Aziza
30
african Voices
and breaks his neck.
can’t you talk about somethin
pleasant, why you thinkin
bout this?
cause save the peel
i’ma collect more.
(suck-teeth)
you better
have on clean socks
don’t be embarrassin me
at the doctor’s office.
(boy laughs) (boy
thoughtful) did slaves
laugh while they was slaves?