Black Lives Matter

This page is dedicated to the Black Lives Movement and how Maasai’s mother Ana Jones was inspired to share one of Maasai Jones (2017) poems on racism called “A Diet Racist” at her first march in Los Gatos, CA the week after memorial day in May of 2020. Ana has shared the poem at over 15 marches or rallies from San Jose to San Francisco and with over 20,000 people. We will also use this platform to highlight Maasai’s book of poems and the Diet Racist T-shirt to raise money for the scholarship funds.

This morning I made plans to walk in a peaceful protest . . . Click Here to read more . . .

This morning I made plans to walk in a peaceful protest with my sister Maina and niece LeAna Tulele in Los Gatos, CA. Why did I choose to march? Because I am sick to my stomach of seeing images on TV and social media about the brutality and the injustices that has been the norm for America. The cries of the mothers’ whose sons lives are taken were the reasons I walk. I walk for my son

Maasai Jones

whose thoughts weighed heavy on racism toward the end of life. I walk for my other son

Macon Jones

whose life is definitely subject to racial profiling and all the injustices for a young black man in America.

At the end of the march I approached the organizers of the rally of mostly high school students in Los Gatos to see if I could share my son Maasai Jone’s poem “A Diet Racist”. They willingly let me take the stage as the 5th speech. I was not aware that NBC Channel 5 news was right in front of me. A clip of the speech I gave with Maasai Jones poem was featured on the NBC News at 5pm.

Take a stand today because we can no longer sit on the fence and say it is not our fight. It is everyone’s fight because SILENCE IS INJUSTICE!

The words of my 19 year old son in a recent prayer “. . . Please bless us in this mayhem, bless our home, bless our families, and bless us . . .” My prayers in addition to his were to protect us, protect our sons and to protect our daughters. The images on social media and the news are the faces of my sons

Maasai Jones
and
Macon Jones

These could just as easily be my son Macon who could be jogging in a neighborhood or driving after dark.

My sons were raised in a world of privilege. Their closest friends and neighbors are white. The sports they chose for travel teams for the majority of their young lives, both gymnastics and ice hockey, brought them into the circle of mainly white friends raised in the heart of the computer capital of the world. Their faces stood out at competitions and tournaments and events with their circle of friends, peers, and acquaintances.

The choice for high school became a debate with my older son Maasai Jones who was hesitant to apply to a private all boys school which only took less than a dozen African Americans in the class of 400 students each year. In summoning the last of my so-called wisdom I told him you have no other choice but to apply to the school because it will prepare you for the world . . .

A world where on the path to hitting that glass ceiling or at the height of academia and athleticism is a reflection of the faces in your high school class.
A world outside of our bubble in which we raised and sheltered the boys.
A world we knew even in this great land of America, a land of opportunity, ran deep undercurrents of racism.
A world where you were labeled white or you were black including every other shade of brown, yellow, or red.
A world today, where they are likely targets for racial profiling “driving while black” or “driving while brown” and now we can add “running while black”.

Among one of “the talks” the boys got after passing their drivers test was what to expect if they were pulled over by the cops, and what to do “ . . . keep your hands where the cops can see them, do not make any sudden moves, and tell the officer when you want to reach for your license or papers”. This is the reality we are in and trained the boys to deal with if the situation arose.

As their world expanded so did their view of what it was like to be a young black man in America and the reality of the injustices of being black. In one of his poems on racism “List of Convenient Answers” Maasai Jones (2017) initially penned “A Diet Racist” allows us to examine our own prejudices on race. More specifically on blacks and systemic racism that keeps blacks and people of color down as a whole.

The world is rioting/marching right outside our front doors. It is time to examine where we stand, and how our actions to change the status quo will affect the lives of our children. Martin Luther King Jr., succinct analysis in his “Other America” speech said:

“But in the final analysis, a riot is the language of the unheard. And what is it that America has failed to hear? It has failed to hear that the plight of the Negro poor has worsened over the last few years. It has failed to hear that the promises of freedom and justice have not been met. And it has failed to hear that large segments of white society are more concerned about tranquility and the status quo than about justice, equality and humanity. And so in a real sense our nation’s summers of riots are caused by our nation’s winters of delay. And as long as America postpones justice, we stand in the position of having these recurrences of violence and riots over and over again.”

A Diet Racist – A List of Convenient Answers

By Maasai Jones (2017)

“I don’t see race, I treat all people the same”

Is a convenient answer-
It allows the majority to ignore racism.
And keep the moral high ground.

“I’m okay with immigrants, but just not illegal immigrants”

Is a convenient answer-
It forgets that this country was founded:
By illegal immigrants
Who tortured-
Raped-
And killed-
The legal residents of America:
Native Americans.
Which is classic

“All lives matter”

Is a convenient answer-
It dilutes “Black Lives Matter”
By drawing attention to an obvious fact.

“Black Lives Matter”

Is the Ebony outcry to:
Eric Garner.
Michael Brown.
Tamir Rice.
Freddie Gray.
And any other victim in this vicious cycle-
That “All lives matter” tries to cover up.

“But I can’t be racist. My best friend is black!”

Is a convenient answer, but-
I’m sorry to be the one to break the news:

You can still be racist.

Just no one takes the time out to call you out.
Because we’ve all heard the same excuses-
Catchphrases-
And convenient answers-
That only a diet racist would give.

– By Maasai Jones