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Do You Hear Me Now Black Male Vulnerability Don Cornelius Soul Train

February 7, 2012 – 8:51 am | 5 Comments |

I cowered at the revelation that our soul brother number one, musical architect Don Cornelius, whose funky good time was always buoyed by a distinguished gentleman aesthetic, had taken his own life. Not by a pill popping escapade gone woefully astray, but rather a volatile projectile to the dome. This was personal. A profound proclamation of sadness with a mountainous burden: Do you hear me now?

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CHANGE GON’ COME

Submitted by Edward M. Garnes, Jr. on September 4, 2009 – 2:53 amNo Comment |

The joint below is an excerpt from Garnes’ introspective poetry collection Like Sweet Tea On A Hot Summer Day (2009).

Change Gon’ Come

by Edward M. Garnes, Jr.©

what remains of his life

is in his hand

so he strokes his manhood

gone limp

by corporate pimps

gang scars

and steel bars

he just cant get no satisfaction

so at night

he sing hymns

dreaming of his lady Kim

under dim prison lights

Award winning writer, educator, counselor, and activist Edward M. Garnes, Jr. is the founder of From Afros to Shelltoes: Art, Action, and Conversation, a nationally acclaimed series of cultural productions confronting the social divide between elders and hip hop heads. The 2009 Atlanta Tribune Men Of Distinction holds a B.A. in English Writing from DePauw University and a M.A. in Counseling from Michigan State University . His seminal essay, ” Sweet Tea Ethics: Black Luv, Healthcare, and Cultural Mistrust,” currently appears in Not In My Family: AIDS in the African American Community, a 2007 NAACP Image Award nominated collection edited by Gil Robertson. (www.afrostoshelltoes.com).