Troy Davis - So What Can I Do?

M-1 of Dead Prez at Rally for Troy Davis

I don't believe you can ever do "too much". That's one of the reasons life is worth living! There's always more to learn and do. BUT... I do believe you can "worry" too much. AND... I also believe you can overextend yourself too much.

My tag as an MC (Self Suffice) came from realizing:

1. The world would be a much better place if we spent less time criticizing other people, or going out of our way to do the work of others.

2. Everything we see in the world is a reflection of the way we see ourselves in our own minds. So... before you attempt to criticize the work of others, attempt to set a better example through your own work.

This is why when you come to one of my shows, you will hear the crowd calling out phrases like, "Love Your Self" and "Be Your Self".

Today, on September 21, 2011 - in the United States of America - I find myself wanting to CRITICIZE the Georgia Board of Pardon and Paroles. Besides that, I feel the urge to be a judge, or attorney, or the president and simply DECIDE the life of TROY DAVIS will be spared. In this moment, I gain clarity in realizing that 1. CRITICIZING is pointless and 2. DECISIONS can only be carried out by those who've made a COMMITMENT to carry them out on a regular basis, and suffered through the challenges to establishing their credibility.

So out of love for my own sanity (LOL), and respect for the lawyers, judges, and presidents who've made the COMMITMENT to do their particular job on a regular basis, I'll avoid CRITICIZING or FORCING others to do their job differently. BUT... am I helpless? NO!

Though I've spoken about TROY DAVIS with friends and family more and more over the past week, tweeted, posted, shared, and led a RALLY for TROY DAVIS (marching through our city's downtown "Main St." area) with other concerned neighbors and activists (Shout to Chris Hutchinson and DJ Toka)... I don't feel like I've done "too much". I want to do more, but I know it's pointless to OVEREXTEND myself. So what can I do?

Rally for Troy Davis in Paris, France

The answer is Simple.

The answer to "What can you do" is "Do what you do". I'm a rapper/poet/MC! So I can make sure that my lyrics continue to spread the COMPASSION and RESPECT for LIFE that is missing in our country right now.

2. And I can start by posting just 1 or 2 bars on this blog right here. Scroll down to "Comments" to see what I write.

3. And I can ask any other lyricists (singers/rappers/poets) to add 1 or 2 bars and encourage others to direct some of our words towards a collaborative poetic-blog-post FOR HUMAN LIFE. Please scroll down to "Comments" and add 1 or 2 lines about saving a valuable HUMAN LIFE.

Justice John Paul Stevens

For those unaware of the controversy about the Execution of Troy Davis (scheduled for TODAY), here are some facts:

1. Career legislators and government officials agree that Troy Davis hasn't been proven guilty of a crime, much less a crime worthy of Capital Punishment

Former President (and Georgia Governor) Jimmy Carter released a public letter in which he stated "Executing Troy Davis without a real examination of potentially exonerating evidence risks taking the life of an innocent man and would be a grave miscarriage of justice."

2. Convicting an innocent man allows the actual killer to get away with killing Officer MacPhail

Martina Correia, an active campaigner for her brother stated "This is not family against family. We have no ill will against the MacPhail family. When justice is found for Troy, there will be justice for Officer MacPhail."

3. Officer MacPhail was trying to stop Sylvester Cole from beating up a homeless man when he was killed. The man who MacPhail was attempting to stop (Sylvester) is the same one who told police that Troy Davis did the crime. For some unknown reason, Sylvester Cole was never a suspect.

4. In 1976, just six months after he joined the Supreme Court, Justice John Paul Stevens voted to reinstate capital punishment after a four-year moratorium. He recently retired and made himself available to speak about his 3+ decades of work (during which some 1,100 executions took place). I heard him on WNPR discussing why his decision to reinstate capital punishment is the only one he regrets.

In a detailed, candid and critical essay published by The New York Review of Books, he wrote that personnel changes on the court, coupled with “regrettable judicial activism,” had created a system of capital punishment that is shot through with racism, skewed toward conviction, infected with politics and tinged with hysteria.

Here's an interview with retired Justice John Paul Stevens

If you're a lawyer or professor who can't do anything to determine the innocence - or save the life - of Troy Davis, maybe you can take a few minutes to discuss the case with your colleagues/students today. If you're a painter, maybe you can paint freedom and compassion. If you're a chef maybe you can spell HUMAN LIFE with string beans, or write JUSTICE with frosting on a cupcake. I'm an MC...

If you're a lyricist, feel free to scroll down to the comments and add 1 or 2 lines (or more) to this collaborative poetic-blog-post FOR HUMAN LIFE