You get pulled over by the police. And they like, you know, try to rip the car apart. And then they're like, well, where's the drugs? I'm like, brother, come on, I'm dressed up like--I mean, I'm coming from work. It's evident I'm coming from work. And he was like, nah, you got the cracks. Like, let me smell your fingers. Like, my fingers? Like, my--you want all my extremities, too? You want my toes, too?
And I'm like, okay, you know what? Smell my dirty, stank, atrocious nails. Go right ahead.He's like--so then he's not satisfied. He's like, what, he's like, where are they? And like, I was like, you know, I don't consent to the search. And that was like, that was it. Then he was like, talking about physically whipping my ass. Like he said, if we were in West Baltimore right now, I'd whip your ass up and down the street. And I'm like whatever, I'm leaving. You can leave me the hell alone, type demonstration. And I was telling all to myself, like, what the fuck is all this shit popo.
Baltimore is in a condition i believe can be changed, from a fixture upon our collective psyche to a dream of a better life. A future where the idea of poverty is understood, but does not define who we are.Yet the same idea of separation and neglect remain. Punitive barriers still plague the community. But poverty as it exists here, and the people who live with it, is no longer an idea without hope. A way of life that we have decided to challenge through the resilience of our people who have chosen not to accept it. A condition we believe can be changed, from a fixture upon our collective psyche to a dream of a better life. A future where the idea of poverty is understood, but does not define who we are.
