Iola
For Michelle Duster, great-granddaughter of Ida B. Wells-Barnett
Pages of the Living Way
Newspaper, which reached readers
Every week, was how the public
Saw eloquent words and met
Her, Iola
Told many of her harrowing tale
Of injustice turned resistance:
Boarded a steam train for work, Nashville bound,
First class seat taken, comfy ride for
Her, Iola
The White conductor disapproved,
Did his damnest to remove
Consign to a smoky, crowded
“Coloured only” car, disregard for
Her, Iola
Promptly answered him with her teeth,
Fastened onto pale hand, bitten deep,
White passengers cheered as she was dragged out—
This episode wasn’t over for
Her, Iola
Contested the egregious matter in court
Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad, her opponents
The judge awarded $500 in damages
Soon to be lost, company appeal against
Her, Iola
It was the sudden shooting of three
Successful Black grocers, all good friends, because
Southern White businessmen despised competition,
That brought that schoolteacher to her typewriter, motivation for
Her, Iola
Shone truth’s light on ghastly wrongs
Between the Evening Star & Free Speech
Until hatred’s fire was set to her printing press
Added stress on the journalistic princess, Memphis off-limits to
Her, Iola
New York City, Northern refuge
Safe enough to continue the deluge:
Reports on Southern horrors acquired
From talks with victims’ relations, fleshed out by
Her, Iola
The record of the South continued to go red
From any hick town producing Nubian dead
From shotgun shells, bullets, fire and rope
Enclosed around the necks of humanity, counted by
Her, Iola
That never fails to chill the soul
Commonly used method of control
When Blacks came up, supremacy cut them down—
Allegations of rape of White women found false by
Her, Iola
Chicago, England, Wales, Scotland—wherever she did a speech
On the crime of lynching—Preach, lady, preach—
America isn’t the land of the free
If you’re not free to be Black, the gist from
Her, Iola
“Separate but equal”—official falsehood
Separate and substandard facilities—never good
Signs at public places turned away dark faces—
The basis for a fight for equality, which began with
Her, Iola.
By Dee Allen
Biography
African-Italian performance poet based in Oakland, California. Active on the creative writing & Spoken Word tips since the early 1990s. Author of 5 books [ “Boneyard”, “Unwritten Law”, “Stormwater” and “Skeletal Black”, all from POOR Press, and from Conviction 2 Change Publishing, “Elohi Unitsi” ] and 38 anthology appearances [ including “Your Golden Sun Still Shines”, “Rise”, “Extreme”, “2020: The Year That Changed America” and the newest, “Geography Is Irrelevant” from York, England’s own Stairwell Books ] under his figurative belt so far.