Photos: Twitter\Drew University
The following poem Jesus and The Black Body was written by Linda Wiggins-Chavis, also known as L.A. Justice.
Arms and legs of burnished bronze
Carried our sorrows
Saved us from sin
Oppressed and afflicted
Despised and rejected
Betrayed by one
Tortured by all
“Crucify him” they yelled
Thorns in his head
Welts on his back
Mocked and beaten
Marred and disfigured
No longer human
Lamb to the slaughter
Nailed to the cross
Took up our infirmities
Pierced for our iniquities
Water and blood
By whose stripes we are healed
Died like a criminal
Committed no crime
Christ crucified
Cried out in pain
Poured out his life
Gave up his spirit
Body goes silent
He can’t breathe
Beautiful Black bodies
Drowning in sorrow
From America’s sin
Oppressed and afflicted
Despised and rejected
Betrayed by the system
Tortured by the badge
“Get down” they yell
Bullets in our back
Knees on our necks
Mocked and beaten
Marred and disfigured
We are still human
Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd
Lambs to the slaughter
Nailed in a coffin
America’s racist infirmities
Killed for its inequities
Water and blood
By whose stripes are we healed?
Dying like criminals
“Hands up, don’t shoot”
Black bodies tormented
Crying out in pain
Life pouring out
Diminishing our spirit
Bodies go silent
We can’t breathe
Linda Wiggins-Chavis is a writer, activist, theologian and biochemist currently teaching middle school science.
