African Americans

"This song's 'bout a young boy that's gone wild inside When my world collide With your world where your girl and your kids reside We killed the facades, we feel free to fly We're birds that reserve in the charismatic sky I care about my pride too much If my clothes is new, if my ride is plush If my hair is cut, if my diamonds is crushed I look in the mirror, I'm trendy enough? Wrong"

"I woke up this morning and figured I'd call you In case I'm not here tomorrow, I'm hoping that I can borrow A peace of mind, I'm behind on what's really important My mind is really distorted, I find nothing but trouble in my life I'm fortunate you believe in a dream This orphanage we call a ghetto is quite a routine And last night was just another distraction or a reaction Of what we consider madness, I know exactly what happened You ran outside when you heard my brother cry for help Held him like a newborn baby and made him feel Like everything was alright and a fight he tried to put up But the type of bullet that stuck had went against his will As blood spilled on your hands, my plans rather vindictive Everybody's a victim in my eyes When I ride, it's a murderous rhythm and outside became pitch black A demon glued to my back whispering, "Get 'em" I got 'em, and I ain't give a fuck That same mentality that told my brother not to duck In actuality, it's a trip how we trip off of colors I wonder if I'll ever discover a passion like you and recover The life that I knew as a young'n in pajamas and dun-ta-duns When thunder comes it rains cats and dogs"

"If I told you that a flower bloomed in a dark room, would you trust it? I mean I write poems in these songs dedicated to you When you're in the mood for empathy, there's blood in my pen Better yet where your friends and them?"

"Lord forgive me Kill him where he stand and stand over him, shake his hand Then jump back in that mini van, double back to his block and blam I ain't backing down for nothing I'ma back em down like Shaq with this black 2-2-3 in my hand Better pray that this chopper jam like a radio single, man Police radio signals sayin' that a 187 land on your corner Coroners comfort your mama "Mama he's dead," the next morning I toasted up with my homies We drink and smoke marijuana, want us to change our ways? Uh-huh You see this game we play come from uncles that raised me in Compton Ask me what I have accomplished I don't know I don't have conscience I just load up and start dumpin' on enemies; I'm head hunting No sympathy, ain't no love when you in these streets just get something Protect ya neck cuz they comin' for sets, respect, split your onion Then chop your deck your head tumblin' like gymnastics Cause ignorance is bliss"

"Thank you, George Floyd, for sacrificing your life for justice .. your name will always be synonymous with justice."

"[Africa] just felt like a place where I belonged. It was as simple as that. You hear about the land and you hear untold truths about it, and now you’re old enough to witness it yourself. It just gave me a whole other perspective on where I’m from. What we’re doing in the city of Compton and how the world is just so much bigger than the city of Compton."

"Does it matter whether Chauvin knelt on Floyd’s neck versus his shoulder?"

"Yes. That is the first time that I’ve seen the knee of the defendant on the shoulder blade area"

"Nelson on Monday during his cross-examination of Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo opened a line of questioning over the timeframe of the restraint, suggesting, at least at one point, Chauvin had his knee on Floyd’s shoulder blade as opposed to his neck. Nelson raised the concept of “camera perspective bias” and played two roughly 30-second-long clips of Chauvin’s restraint of Floyd as paramedics were arriving on the scene: a bystander video from teenager Darnella Frazier and the police bodycam footage from former Officer Alexander Kueng. Nelson then highlighted that while it appeared Chauvin had his knee on Floyd’s neck in the video recorded by Frazier, the knee appeared to be on Floyd’s shoulder blade during the same period in the bodycam footage"

"What gives me an advantage in my upbringing is the duality of seeing one of the most beautiful moments of me being 6 years old, to the most tragic moment of being 13 or 14, and make that connection so the person [listening] can really see the conflict. It was a mindfuck, for sure. I would wake up one morning, and it would be cartoons and cereal and walking back from school. And at 4 P.M., we’d be having a house party ‘til 11 P.M. . .. and people [were] shooting each other outside the door. That was my lifestyle. And it’s not only mine; it’s so many other individuals.’ And I wanted to tell that story."

"I can't breathe."

"I'm all about the dollar. You catch me"

"A native of Houston's Third Ward, Floyd was an affiliate of DJ Screw's legendary Screwed Up Click. He rapped under the name Big Floyd. Shortly after his death, fans of S.U.C. began sharing what many Texans had already been aware of: Floyd's features on Screw tapes from the ‘90s. One that surfaced is a 24-minute track titled "So Tired Of Ballin," in which Big Floyd enters around the 14-minutes mark. DJ Screw introduces him with an encouraging "Come on Big Floyd," and Floyd proceeds to glide over a funky slowed beat, boasting his Third Ward roots, dreaming of driving a drop top Bentley, and showing his "raw naked hide" on the competition for two minutes straight."

"The caterpillar is a prisoner to the streets that conceived it Its only job is to eat or consume everything Around it, in order to protect itself from this mad city While consuming its environment the Caterpillar begins to notice ways to survive One thing it noticed is how much the World shuns him, but praises the butterfly The butterfly represents the talent, The thoughtfulness, and the beauty within the caterpillar But having a harsh outlook on life the caterpillar sees the Butterfly as weak and figures out A way to pimp it to his own benefits Already surrounded by this mad city the caterpillar Goes to work on the cocoon which institutionalizes him He can no longer see past his own thoughts He's trapped When trapped inside these walls certain ideas take roots, Such as going home, and bringing back new concepts to this mad city The result? Wings begin to emerge, breaking the cycle of feeling stagnant Finally free, the butterfly sheds light on situations that The caterpillar never considered, ending the internal struggle Although the butterfly and caterpillar are Completely different, they are one and the same."

"(English translation from Spanish) George Floyd is the porn actor “Big Floyd”. True, but ... The publication says that George Floyd was an "underground porn actor" known as "Big Floyd." George Floyd did star in a pornographic video in 2016 with actress Kimberly Bricks for The Habib Show site. In the description of the video, the site tells that it was the first time of "Big Floyd" before cameras. AFP Factual could not find records of other filming in which Floyd has participated, so it is not possible to affirm that he has continued in that field. (original Spanish text) George Floyd es el actor porno “Big Floyd”. Verdadero, pero... La publicación dice que George Floyd era un “actor porno del underground” conocido como “Big Floyd”. George Floyd sí protagonizó un video pornográfico en el año 2016 junto a la actriz Kimberly Bricks para el sitio The Habib Show. En la descripción del video, el sitio cuenta que fue la primera vez de “Big Floyd” ante cámaras. AFP Factual no pudo encontrar registros de otras filmaciones en las que Floyd haya participado, por lo que no es posible afirmar que haya continuado en ese rubro."

"So today I laid in my bed, stared at the ceilin' Closed my eyes, then asked myself how I was feelin' I analyzed on how a saint can play the villain Is my life coincidental or just God willin'?"

"None of the vital structures were in the area that the knee appeared to be in the videos .. all of his injuries were in areas where the knee was not. In other words, they were on the front of his body, his face, places where he was restrained, but there was absolutely no evidence of injury on the skin, to the subcutaneous tissue, or the deeper structures of the back or the neck. I did not see bruising or abrasion to the skin. It speaks to the amount of force that was applied to Mr. Floyd was less than enough to bruise him."

"Would you agree that from the perspective of Officer Kueng’s body camera it appeared Officer Chauvin’s knee was more on Mr. Floyd’s shoulder blade?"

"My focus hold these thoughts and dreams Control this pen (look over your shoulder) Boldest lines in rhymes and things Devote my time and mind it seems Supposed to shine, remind I'm king Provoke the blind and bomb the fiends The pro's the con's, the diamond rings The forward time, but I'ma bring The soul divine and cross between What's your's and mine's, the gold, the green The roads that show just what it mean That grabbed Shakur and by the wing And fly before my vocal scream"

"George Floyd and all other martyrs will remain worldwide symbols of freedom and the struggle to achieve justice here and everywhere."

"Where was your presence, where was your support that you pretend? You ain't no brother, you ain't no disciple, you ain't no friend A friend never leave Compton for profit or leave his best friend Little brother, you promised you'd watch him before they shot him Where was your antennas, on the road, bottles and bitches You faced time the one time, that's unforgiven You even FaceTimed instead of a hospital visit You thought he would recover, well The surgery couldn't stop the bleeding for real Then he died, God himself will say "you fuckin' failed" You ain't try"

"Yo man, what's up everybody? Big Floyd, Floyd the Landlord man. That's me man. Right on man. From Houston Texas, the projects"

"I wanna dance, I wanna fly, gotta get my theme on, gotta shine"

"I remembered you was conflicted Misusing your influence, sometimes I did the same Abusing my power full of resentment Resentment that turned into a deep depression Found myself screamin' in the hotel room I didn't wanna self destruct, the evils of Lucy was all around me So I went runnin' for answers"

"Hail Mary, Jesus and Joseph The great American flag Is wrapped and dragged with explosives Compulsive disorder, sons and daughters Barricaded blocks and borders Look what you taught us It's murder on my street, your street, back streets Wall Street, corporate offices, banks Employees and bosses with homicidal thoughts Donald Trump's in office, we lost Barack And promised to never doubt him again But is America honest or do we bask in sin? Pass the gin, I mix it with American blood Then bash him in, you crippin' or you married to blood? I'll ask again—oops—accident It's nasty when you set us up Then roll the dice, then bet us up You overnight the big rifles, then tell Fox to be scared of us Gang members or terrorists, et cetera, et cetera America’s a reflection of me That's what a mirror does"

"I’m just saying. I think Drake is an outstanding entertainer, but Kendrick—his lyrics, his last album was outstanding. Best album, I think, of last year."

"Beat your ass and hide the bible if God watching"

"Kendrick Lamar understands and employs blues, jazz, and soul in his music, which makes it startling. His work is more than merely brilliant; it is magic."

"I fight the world, I fight you, I fight myself I fight God, just tell me how many burdens left I fight pain and hurricanes, today I wept I'm tryna fight back tears, flood on my doorsteps Life a livin' hell, puddles of blood in the streets Shooters on top of the building, government aid ain't relief Earthquake, the body dropped, the ground breaks The poor run with smoke lungs and Scarface"

"Sorry I didn't save the world, my friend I was too busy buildin' mine again I choose me, I'm sorry"

"What's fair when the hearts and the words don't reach? What's fair when the money don't take things back? It's rare when somebody take your dreams back? (And I'm trippin' and fallin') I care too much, wanna share too much In my head too much, I shut down too I ain't there too much, I'm a complex soul They layered me up, then broke me down And moralities dust, I lack in trust (and I'm trippin' and fallin')"

"What does it mean to occupy and to speak from this position of shame (the position from which one cannot “still turn round to and say, ‘At least I am not a ______’”) without being shamed?"

"Subjectivities constituted from transatlantic slavery onward ... connected, then as now, by the everyday mundane horrors that aren't acknowledged to be horrors, ... inhabited horrors, ... that are breathed in like air and often unacknowledged to be monstrous."

"Desires that are congruent with the law of the master are interpellated by the enslaved, remembered, and passed on to the generations as their own."

"My intent is to examine and account for a series of repetitions of master narratives of violence and forced submission that are read or reinscribed as consent and affection."

"My favorite collection of slave narratives was a nineteen-volume set called The American Slave: A Composite Autobiography. It was assembled in the 1930s by the Writer's Project [of the Works Progress Administration], and these people interviewed the slaves who were left, the very last ones. It was depressing reading not only because bad things happened to slaves, but because slavery could become so pedestrian when you read enough of it, so ordinary. I remember someone telling me that they'd read the Harriet Jacobs narrative, and they said it was mild compared to other slave narratives. And, horribly enough, it was, but that doesn't make her any less a slave. It wasn't something you'd want to undergo."

"(The last book that made you cry?) “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl,” by Harriet Jacobs."

"The secrets of slavery are concealed like those of the Inquisition. My master was, to my knowledge, the father of eleven slaves. But did the mothers dare to tell who was the father of their children? Did the other slaves dare to allude to it, except in whispers among themselves? No, indeed! They knew too well the terrible consequences."

"O virtuous reader! You never knew what it is to be a slave; to be entirely unprotected by law or custom; to have the laws reduce you to the condition of a chattel, entirely subject to the will of another. You never exhausted your ingenuity in avoiding the snares, and eluding the power of a hated tyrant; you never shuddered at the sound of his footsteps, and trembled within hearing of his voice."

"Notwithstanding my grandmother's long and faithful service to her owners, not one of her children escaped the auction block. These God-breathing machines are no more, in the sight of their masters, than the cotton they plant, or the horses they tend."

"I met my grandmother, who said, "Come with me, Linda;" and from her tone I knew that something sad had happened. She led me apart from the people, and then said, "My child, your father is dead." ... The good grandmother tried to comfort me. "Who knows the ways of God?" said she. "Perhaps they have been kindly taken from the evil days to come." Years afterwards I often thought of this. She promised to be a mother to her grandchildren, so far as she might be permitted to do so; and strengthened by her love, I returned to my master's. I thought I should be allowed to go to my father's house the next morning; but I was ordered to go for flowers, that my mistress's house might be decorated for an evening party. I spent the day gathering flowers and weaving them into festoons, while the dead body of my father was lying within a mile of me. What cared my owners for that? he was merely a piece of property. Moreover, they thought he had spoiled his children, by teaching them to feel that they were human beings."

"I would ten thousand times rather that my children should be the half-starved paupers of Ireland than to be the most pampered among the slaves of America. I would rather drudge out my life on a cotton plantation, till the grave opened to give me rest, than to live with an unprincipled master and a jealous mistress. The felon's home in a penitentiary is preferable. He may repent, and turn from the error of his ways, and so find peace; but it is not so with a favorite slave. She is not allowed to have any pride of character. It is deemed a crime in her to wish to be virtuous."

"We are passing through times that will secure for us a higher and nobler celebration. American gold will never secure freedom equal rights and justice to our race. No! before these can come American slavery must be crushed, and its foul stain wiped from the Nation[‘]s escutcheon."

"Just stick with it. Just stick with it. There's always a reason why you keep going in the direction you chose to go in."

"To thine on self be true." "Do that, and you’ll have no regrets."

"…I was doing a promotion for Sounder. And after the film was completed, this journalist said that he discovered a bit of bigotry in himself. But he realized that this Black boy ... [actor] Kevin Hooks calls his father Daddy. And when I asked why, he said, "That's what my son calls me." And I tell you, I was so stunned. It took me a few minutes to catch my breath in order to question whether this man thought that we were human. You know, why can't my son call his Black father Daddy, as his sons called him. And it was at that time that I decided I could not afford the luxury of just being an actress. There were certain issues I had to address and I would use my career as my platform."

"I wish people knew the Miles Davis that I knew. Really. Because you can walk into a bookstore and you see reams of books about Miles Davis. And few people who wrote those books know him. The Miles Davis that I know and knew is not the Miles Davis that you'll read about in those books. I had the good fortune to be close enough to him to have him reveal himself to me the first moment we met. It is the Miles Davis that kept me with him as long as it did. Not only was he brilliantly talented, he was brilliantly sensitive. And that is the Miles Davis that people ... don't know that he was trying to protect."

"…it happened because I learned that I could speak through other people. I was a very shy child. I was an observer. I would sit and observe and listen and watch people's actions in order to understand what they were. I wanted to know what prompted them to say and do the things that they did. I sucked my fingers for 12 years. I never spoke ... but I was a great observer."

"Challenges make you discover things about yourself you never really knew. They are what make the instrument stretch what make you go beyond the norm"

"I think when you begin to think of yourself as having achieved something, then there's nothing left for you to work towards. I want to believe that there is a mountain so high that I will spend my entire life striving to reach the top of it."