I originally wrote this as an introduction to a photojournalism project called “Black Innocence”. The editors decided not to use it. After hearing about the death of former FAMU football player Jonathan Ferrell, who was killed by a Charlotte police officer, even though he was unarmed and running to the officers for help, I decided to record it and put it out. Is there such a thing as “Black Innocence” in this society? Take a listen and you be the judge.
Black Innocence?
That’s ridiculous
We’re labeled as babies that we’re cracked, killer kids
No head start we’re held back in tenements
At age 6 we’re arrested for lack of discipline
At age 9 we’re tested but the mission is
To use the test scores to determine our imprisonment
At age 12 is when we learn what suspension is
And school becomes a pipeline to feed us to detention bids
Age 15 disillusioned by what the system is
cause we’re subjected to daily Stop and Frisk incidents
At age 17 we get grown man sentences
We’re full blown predators shot down by Zimmermans
Black Innocence?
I often wonder if we have that privilege
When another brother’s killed over senselessness
And they tell us that we just have to live with it
Black Innocence
Our most important fundraising appeal of the year
December is the most critical time of year for Truthout, because our nonprofit news is funded almost entirely by individual donations from readers like you. So before you navigate away, we ask that you take just a second to support Truthout with a tax-deductible donation.
This year is a little different. We are up against a far-reaching, wide-scale attack on press freedom coming from the Trump administration. 2025 was a year of frightening censorship, news industry corporate consolidation, and worsening financial conditions for progressive nonprofits across the board.
We can only resist Trump’s agenda by cultivating a strong base of support. The right-wing mediasphere is funded comfortably by billionaire owners and venture capitalist philanthropists. At Truthout, we have you.
We’ve set an ambitious target for our year-end campaign — a goal of $250,000 to keep up our fight against authoritarianism in 2026. Please take a meaningful action in this fight: make a one-time or monthly donation to Truthout before December 31. If you have the means, please dig deep.