Mustafa Santiago Ali
Dr. Mustafa Santiago Ali is the Executive Vice President of Conservation & Justice for the National Wildlife Federation (NWF), former Interim Chief of Programs at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), and Instructor at American University. He is the Founder and CEO of Revitalization Strategies. He also serves as a commissioner for The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS). He is an award-winning writer and poet focused on social justice. Dr. Ali is frequently seen on television, including appearances on MSNBC, ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, VICE, FUSE, BET, National Geographic, Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, and Democracy NOW! Mustafa is also a regular guest on Roland Martin Unfiltered, Black News Channel, Tavis Smiley Show, The Dean Obeidallah Show, and many others…
Editor's Note: This poem is the 99th in our Democracy and Hope Series. This series will highlight hopeful aspects about our Democracy using various genres including poems
They study my cadence but never the cause, Flip my defiance to soften the laws. Write me in essays, dissectin’ my flaws, But never address how they clap for the claws.
They fear what I say but mimic the flow, Praise my rebellion, but not what I know. Rock to the rhythm but mute when we grow, Cuz truth in the bassline expose what they owe.
Master class, huh? But who set the course? Who wrote the test? Who profit, of course? Who name the geniuses? Who fund the source? Who fear the seeds when they sprout with force?
Subversion ain’t just in the bars I bend, It’s the coded resistance we write to transcend. Every verse, every hook, every word I send, A scripture for people who will not bend.
They flip our slang, they mimic the stance, But can’t wear the trauma, the pain in the dance. You want the art, not the circumstance, The protest beats, not the rebel chants.
But nah— This ink too thick with the blood we shed, These rhymes got ghosts that ain’t been fed. This ain’t just music, it’s pages unread, A master class in what you dread.
©️MustafaSantiagoAli
#poetrycommunity #KendrickLamar #Culture #HipHop #BlackHistory #Resister @WordInBlack