We Can’t Breathe
Suffocation, asphyxiation
We can’t breathe, gentrification
Mass incarceration, police brutality
Black and Brown people, it’s our reality
Hypersegregation, ice deportation
Human rights denied, deprivation
We will not take it any longer
Together we are stronger
We are the majority
Racial equity is our priority
Capitalism is the culprit
Preach it from the pulpit
Fund our schools, decarcerate
Free our people, liberate
Break the chains of juridical oppression
Raise your voice, political expression
Press knees on our necks, we won’t be silenced
No justice, no peace, we’re sick of state violence
It’s more than just a few bad apples, the whole tree is rotten
Structural racism, the entire system is the problem
COVID-19 is not to blame
For the suffering we see today
Job insecurity, economic disparities
We stand in solidarity, united in similarities
We demand total transformation
Hear our frustration, feel the pulsation
One heart, one mind, one voice
Striking back is our only choice
Defund the police, take their power
Reinvest in our community, now is the hour
All hands on deck, we demand respect
And won’t settle for anything less
We can’t breathe when they marginalize us, criminalize us
We can’t breathe when they spend $81,000 a year to incarcerate my brother
Break the heart of my mother
When they spend less than $12,000 per student we all suffer
We can’t breathe when police terrorize our communities
And treat us with indignities
We can’t breathe because we are not free
This is why we fight back
We are under attack
From a racist and class-based system
We need to reach for the stars
Dream beyond bars
And only then can we breathe
John was inspired to write this because this is the time for change, there have been many George Floyds locally. It was an awakening for this movement.
John works with CURYJ, among other things as a participatory defense organizer. He works with families who are impacted by the criminal justice system and leads by his personal experience to change the landscape of power in the judicial system.
Related Media:
The Ballad of George Floyd & Poems to Inspire the Movement
To the City of San Jose: Divest from Police and Invest in Community
Tear & Shut This Shit Down By Any Means Necessary
