Poetry We Like: Javon Johnson

Written by Willie Casarez

Javon Johnson is a Assistant Professor of Communication Studies at San Francisco State University. He is a back-to-back National Poetry slam champion.  He has also made appearances on HBO's Def Poetry Jam and BET's Lyric Café.

He has proven that he is not afraid to touch sensitive subjects in his poetry. In his poem "PTSD," Johnson and Terisa Siagatonu speak on the subject of a wartime disease, and young teenagers living in a "war zone."

Watch full poem here: Javon Johnson & Terisa Siagatonu - "PTSD"

"We're learning a lot about this thing called Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. This wartime disease. This combat fatigue diagnosis.
 And we read something worth sharing -
Fact: Urban youth are twice as likely to get Post Traumatic Stress Disorder than soldiers who are coming home from war."

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a mental condition triggered by experiencing or seeing a terrible event.

Most treatments for veterans with PTSD include therapy and medication.

"So tell me, what is the difference between homicide in the streets and bloodshed 

on the battlefields of Iraq?"

Every day, young people across the U.S. fight a constant battle on the streets with gang-related violence. Every day, we lose young lives due to the senseless violence on the streets.

"The only difference there is between a tank and a police car 
is the speed in which innocent civilians can run when profiled."

You never learn, you fail the test!
You never learn, you fail the test!
You never learn, you drop out.

Money gets cut from school districts, and the students in lower class cities suffer the most.
The sense of community in lower class public schools is non-existent.

"When is his teacher going to stop sending him

to the principal and start sending him to the counselor?

Why do we fire the counselor?

What happened to the art classes, to P.E., and

health center?

Because trauma is an STD, a 'Socially Transmitted Disease',

Meaning my trauma is your trauma,

and her/his trauma is mine,

And that's what it means to be in a community!

The only difference there is between a soldier with PTSD

and one of my students with it, is that a soldier gets

to leave the battlefield, while my kids go home to it!"

Javon Johnson speaks out against the unjust acts in America towards minorities. Reminding me of a modern day George Jackson, Johnson is uniquely unafraid to speak his mind.

 

In November 2014, Officer Darren Wilson was not convicted for the killing of teenager Michael Brown.  This caused an unrest in many cities such as Ferguson,  New York City,  Los Angeles and Chicago. Protests and riots lasted for weeks on end.

Javon Johnson was asked about the verdict in Ferguson and only had one thing to say:

Watch poem here: Javon Johnson - "cuz he's black"

"Most black men have had to learn how to survive in white America, where the chips seem like they are often stacked against us in every aspect of life – especially in the area of law enforcement."

In his poem "cuz he's black," Javon Johnson speaks out on being black in white America.

"So I'm driving down the street with my 4-year-old nephew. He, knocking back a juice box, me, a Snapple, today y'all we are doing manly shit. I love watching the way his mind works. He asks a million questions.

Uncle, why is the sky blue?

Uncle, how do cars go?

Uncle, why don't dogs talk?

Uncle, uncle, uncle, he asks, 
Uncle, uncle, uncle, he asks, 
Uncle uncle uncle, as if his voice box is a warped record.

I try my best to answer every question, I do."

In America, one in every three black males born today can expect to go to prison at some point in their life, compared with one in every six Latino males, and one in every seventeen white males.

According to the 2010 U.S Census, 3,036 out of every 100,000 black males ended up in state prison across the nation. And the percentages keep on rising.

"He smiles, looks out the window, spots a cop car,  drops his seat and says, 
'Oh man, Uncle, 5-0, we gotta hide.'

I'll be honest.
I'm not happy with the way we raise our black boys.

Don't like the fact that he learned to hide from the cops well before he knew how to read.

Angrier that his survival depends more on his ability to deal with the authorities than it does his own literacy.

'Get up,' I yell at him. 'In this car, in this family, we are not afraid of the law!'

I wonder if he can hear the uncertainty in my voice.

Is today the day he learns that Uncle is willing to lie to him?"

Javon Johnson reminds us that discrimination is still live and well in America.  He reminds us that in 2014, 55% of African Americans were victims of stop and frisk in New York City.  He makes us remember that America is white America.

Poets such as Johnson keep spirit in young minorities alive, by letting them know they are not alone.

"We both know too many black boys who disappeared.

Names lost.

Know too many Trayvon Martins, Oscar Grants, and Abner Louimas, 
Know too many Sean Bells and Amadou Diallos.

Know too well that we are the hard-boiled sons of Emmett Till.

Still, we both know it's not about whether or not the shooter is racist,

It's about how poor black boys are treated as problems well before we are treated as people.

Black boys in this country cannot afford to play cops and robbers if we're always considered the latter,

don't have the luxuries of playing war if we're already in one."

Johnson never talks about his writing process, but it's clear where his inspiration comes from.

Though his poetry may be offensive to some, it's poetry that needs to be written; words that need to be said. 

We are very lucky to have amazing poets such as Javon Johnson.

Instead of ignoring the reality of what is going on, we should acknowledge the truth and make this world a better place for generations to come. 

I respect Javon Johnson for acknowledging this reality and being brave enough to speak up about it.

In Oakland, California, the NAACP reported that out of 45 officer-involved shootings in the city between 2004 and 2008, 37 of those shot were black. None were white. One-third of the shootings resulted in fatalities. Although weapons were not found in 40% of cases, no officers were charged. (These numbers don't include 22-year-old Oscar Grant, who was shot and killed by a transit authority officer at the Fruitvale BART station on New Year's Day of 2009.)

We love Javon Johnson for not letting those innocents die and be forgotten.

We recommend that you take a day to listen to Javon's poetry and make a decision for yourself.

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