And A Child Shall Lead Them
by Dr. Philip J. Rogers, Director of Music
The song, I Want to Live composed and performed by twelve-year-old Keedron Bryant speaks
volumes to America about the realities of systemic racism toward me and others within the black
community. His video post on social media is so evocative that it is garnering millions of views
among black and white observers as well as national media network exposure and interviews.
One critical fact that I learned during my years of teaching is that children are keen observers of
adult ways of thinking and doing. Among their peers they share perspectives and come to
conclusions about how to react to life situations. The astute educator who engages young students
in classroom discussions teaches them how to effectively process their thoughts based on
connections with classroom curriculum concepts. Their inductive and deductive reasoning skills are thereby sharpened and encouraged in the process.
The lyrics of Keedron’s song are printed below. One particular line struck me as an insightfully
astute observation. It reminded me of what reverberated in my mind while watching videos of
past shootings and again during the live video murder of George Floyd. The words, “Every day, I’m
being hunted as prey” confirmed my long held suspicion while observing the police officer’s gaze into the video camera as he choked his human prey to death – a “trophy kill” for his kind to applaud.
From Reconstruction to today the freedom from litigation for murder of black persons can only be seen as self-gratifying trophy killings similar to the glory killing of a lion, deer, or rhino. The
killer’s justification of “standing my ground” or “he/she resisted arrest” when in actuality we were
unjustifiably stopped in traffic for being a black driver or walking down a city street wearing a hoody
or walking down Rodeo Drive clad in his expensive business attire and being detained in hand cuffs because he does not identify as one who belongs – black skin connoting “alien” to them.
Since 2016, previously covert racists have been emboldened to murder black citizens without
conscience, remorse or fear of prosecution based on protections set forth by historic systemic racist laws that white politicians refuse to denounce and change.
An American Justice travesty that has started a Revolution…and IS being televised.
I JUST WANNA LIVE! – by Keedron Bryant
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cu9R08xFCtg&feature=share
I’m a young black man;
Doing all that I can… to stand.
Oh, when I look around;
And see what’s being done to my kind;
Every day, I’m being hunted as prey;
My people don’t want no trouble;
We’ve got enough struggles.
I just want to live!
God protect me;
I just wanna live!
I just wanna live!