My poem draws from the vision and promise of our nation’s Declaration of Independence in contrast with the vision and threat presented by proposed total bans on abortion. – Mary Susan Gast
UNCERTAIN INALIENABLE RIGHTS
Inalienable rights
Endowed by our Creator
Inalienable rights
Inalienable—can’t be gotten rid of
Absolute
Sacrosanct
Unassailable
Life
Liberty
Pursuit of happiness.
Except, of course,
If you have likewise been endowed
With a functioning uterus.
In which case, your inalienable rights
Are up for alienation
Trumped and superseded
Any time
Any old time
Any young time
Egg and sperm meet
Within you.
If you should conceive,
Whatever the circumstances,
Nothing
Nothing in your life,
Neither loss of job,
Nor loss of mental health,
Neither exhaustion,
Nor damage to physical health
Nor neglect of children already born,
Neither commitments to vocation
Nor aging parents
Nor anything else in all creation,
Can keep you from becoming a birth mother—
Or die trying.
The sectarian parochial conviction
That a fertilized egg is a full human being,
That dogma,
Has powered up its wardrobe,
Dapper in judicial robes, and senatorial togas
Along with its usual ensemble of religious vestments
To propagate and promulgate itself most forcefully
As the law of the land
Mowing down
Devastating
Life, Liberty, Pursuit of Happiness
For those who are unhealthily, unwillingly, or unjoyously
Pregnant.
Bodies conscripted
For servitude.
Enforced birth, coerced procreation
Demeans, mocks, belittles, dismisses
The generous, arduous, courageous, dangerous, heroic
Labor of love
Entered into
By those who freely give of themselves
To give birth.
We hold these truths to be self-evident.
Inalienable rights
Endowed by our Creator
Inalienable rights
Can’t be gotten rid of
Absolute
Sacrosanct
Unassailable [Say it with me, everyone]
The nation I used to love
Has gone mad.
I’m living in a deadly spin,
A near-divorce state,
A whirlpool of Trumpian loathing
And marching orders of Supremes
That would take us back to the glory days
Of patriarchal authority
And martial powers
Of guns and guns and guns…
And babies blooming unchecked
In every womb.
The nation I used to love
Is broken.
And my love is lost for now. Divorce impossible,
I’m trapped in a promise
Of decades of division,
Litigation that has an arc
That bends not toward justice
But is crushed or nearly so
Under the weight of Justices
Of right –
Of right and fight and loathsome might.
The nation I used to love
Is a memory
Held dear
Kept safe
For a century perhaps
A future for now unknown
And yet to come?
Yet to come.
Progressive Dems of Benicia invite you to say hello to John Garamendi, our new US Representative, and to offer thanks and goodbye to our longtime US Rep. Mike Thompson
Mark your calendar to attend a Hello and Goodbye Summer Social on Sunday June 26, from 2 to 4. We will welcome our new U.S. Rep. John Garamendi and say goodbye to Benicia’s longtime U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson. It will be held right here in Benicia, at the Veterans Memorial Hall, 1150 First Street, across from the Gazebo. (See info about tickets below.)
Both Thompson and Garamendi will remain in Congress – the change is due to a redrawing of California Congressional Districts.
The party is also a fundraiser for our fellow Democratic Club the United Democrats of Southern Solano County. This is a great opportunity to connect with these important legislators and our fellow Democrats. Ticket information below, purchase your ticket(s) here.
There was much to be celebrated this past Sunday, June 19, 2022.
Benicia Juneteenth 2022 – Ariel Marin Music
By Amira Barger, June 23, 2022
Thanks to community volunteers and the events team of Benicia Black Lives Matter (BBLM), the second annual Juneteenth Celebration brought us together as we collectively reflected on and commemorated a historic day. This event was made possible by community, for community.
From its origins in 1865, Juneteenth has presented a paradox – much like our little City by the Bay, Benicia – marking a legacy of systemic racism and inequity yet simultaneously representing hope and opportunity to see and do things differently. In this way, Juneteenth is not just a remembrance of the past, but a call to action for us, today and tomorrow. Each community member who showed up – on Father’s Day no less—joined in an act of solidarity with and for Benicia’s Black community.
Benicia Juneteenth 2022 – Solano County Supervisor Monica Brown with BBLM’s Amira Barger and Kashanna Harmon-Lee
Nearly one hundred Benicians gathered to commemorate Freedom Day and the end of enslavement in the United States. While the downtown Veteran’s Hall was filled with visible smiles, colorful artwork and other media, live music, and the smell of delectable foods, the stage was shared amongst a handful of stunning singers, speakers, poets, artists and activists who together reminded us that the fight for equity and freedom is far from over and won.
Benicia Juneteenth 2022 – around 100 in attendance
There is still much more work to be done in our little City by the Bay. BBLM encourages each resident of Benicia to continue your journey of learning and working to celebrate Black culture, Black people, Black history and Black life. Some actionable steps you can take today are noted here and can be found on our website and social pages:
Be sure to attend this event each year and, most importantly, spend your money with our vendors that joined us – most of them Black-owned and -operated. Links are included in this article where vendors have been mentioned and shared on our social media pages.
To close this recounting, we urge you to center this passage from BBLM’s first-ever essay contest winner, Sydney Allen, who offered these apt words to our community:
“I will leave you with this quote from the Black-trans activist Marsha P. Johnson, who said, ‘History isn’t something you look back at and say it was inevitable. It happens because people make decisions that are sometimes very impulsive…’ If we do not stop to consider the outcome for all of those with whom we are making decisions for, then we continue to perpetuate a vicious cycle of racism and bigotry. But if we are able to authentically bring diversity, inclusivity, and unity to our nation’s government, then we are one step closer to a society that truly has ‘liberty and justice, for all.’”
Thank you for being in community with us and see you next year!
About
Benicia Black Lives Matter is a grassroots community group organized to address anti-Black racism in the city of Benicia.There is a lack of Black representation across City leadership, departments, and voluntary boards. The lack of Black representation tells a story of our complacency as a community and more so, the impact on our Black Benicians lived experience. The good news is, we can rebuild the City of Benicia into a better Benicia, one commitment and one change at a time – and we have a strategy to do so. Our Strategy: Actively Commit to Change. The City of Benicia must commit to a specific vision of what a better, more inclusive and equitable future looks like. For additional information see beniciablacklivesmatter.com.
Inalienable rights
You must be logged in to post a comment.