by Tanya Cromartie-Twaddle

It is part of my mission to share with our readers those voices and views that are the least likely to be heard. Shante’ Stevens, a 15-year-old Milwaukee resident, composed the following poem just a few days before Dr. King’s Birthday. She is a member of The Girl’s Leadership Program at the YWCA Vel Phillips Center. Shante’s message is timeless and I know we will hear more rejuvenating insight from her in the future. DIFFERENT If Martin Luther King Jr. was alive today a lot of things would be different. He changed some American ways, but probably not as much as he wanted. Yeah, you see some races come together and stand as one. But there are still some people who think violence against minorities is fun. He stood up for African-Americans rights and other races to come. But if he was alive today he’d still think his job wasn’t done. He would fight for human rights and not just for one race. He would lecture on the September 11th tragedy and fight terrorism in its face. He would look upon our growing teen pregnancy rate and just frown. But he would still comfort those teens in need and try to pull that rate down. He would help our president, George Bush, make decisions He can’t ignore He would tell him “Violence is not the way! “We shouldn’t use war to settle the score. And if he was still alive we would have no meaning for black on black crime. He would let our people know we have to stick together and he would open their minds. But most of all, if Dr. King was still alive, You know what would really be different? Our American people would really stand together And all races Black, White, Puerto Rican, Asian… We would all be truly UNITED Riverwest Currents – Volume 2 – Issue 2 – February 2003
by Tanya Cromartie-Twaddle