Andre Peltier

On ‘Stand and Shout’

“Say Their Names” is a campaign of such importance. Although the Chauvin case was settled in a manner as just as we could hope, on that very same day we saw more violence perpetrated by police officers. We need to remain vigilant and aware of the problematic relationship between officers and communities. The violence needs to stop, and hopefully, by reminding people of the situation, not just in American history, but in the very immediate present, we can pressure departments to correct their training. It is imperative that we redistribute funds to ensure fewer incidents occur in which armed officers are interacting with citizens when there is no danger. 

This poem was first published by The Melbourne Culture Center.

The illustration accompanying this poem, ‘And countless others’ by Olivia Cocozza (@ileauu), is licensed under CC-BY-NC-SA.