by Mary Johnson- Butterworth
When someone close to me questioned the importance of my marching with White Birminghamians For Black Lives, I wrote this poem as a response. I proudly carry a sign, “White Silence Breeds Injustice,” every Friday from 4:30-6:30 at Kelly Ingram Park. Everyone is welcome.
“WHITE SILENCE BREEDS INJUSTICE,”
Words I hold in my hands
For those whose hands are shackled
Or too full with work
And growing healthy babies.
Can our voices speak as theirs
Or do we dilute their words?
Can I ally with Dreamers,
Insulated by my birthright?
Can I represent the poor
With no balance on my Visa?
Can I fight for women’s rights
And parent three white males?
What makes a marcher relevant?
What deems a march impactful?
Pussy hats and Trump attacks
And “Free Melania” placards?
If I echo, “Me Too,” and state,
“No Hate, No Fear,”
Are these the stuff of change?
If we few insist on marching,
Does our weekly selfie morph
Into a media laughingstock?
Distractors, subtractors from the core?
Interlopers, intruders on could-be passion?
Transformative, informative,
Or just subnormative?
Can we convey, “Black Lives Matter”
As a smattering of whites?
Are we a joke gone viral
In our efforts to protest
For those we cannot protect?
Can we sense Black pain
Enough to hail its power
Over all Americans?
When two or three are gathered
In the name of Social Justice,
Do we frustrate the huddled masses
Or does good emanate from the act?
“Yes,” I say ground is gained
By our meager footsteps.
Our rallying imprimatur leaves
Permanence in its wake,
For white silence breeds injustice.
Mary Johnson-Butterworth, age 69, has been a social justice activist most of her adult life. She has facilitated social justice workshops for middle and high school students throughout the Birmingham area and beyond with the YWCA of Central Alabama, the National Conference for Community and Justice, the National Coalition Building Institute, and YouthServe. Mary has also been on staff at a residential YWCA diversity camp, Anytown Alabama, for 22 years and has facilitated trainings for corporate entities, Leadership Birmingham, and Project Corporate Leadership. She has recently discovered the power of poetry to transform her own life and the lives of impacted listeners.
