Black pro-life poet Shawn Welcome produced a passionate poem several years ago to address abortion, a tragedy he calls the “new civil war.” Welcome states in the video that he wanted to challenge people to take a stand against abortion in their cities. Statistics on abortion reveal that it disproportionately affects the Black community. Many of the early advocates of abortion were involved in eugenics, a racist ideology which viewed minorities as less valuable.
Poet Shawn Welcome on abortion and Black genocide 2
Welcome has been a community activist for years, according to his website. His poem begins by recalling the American civil war:
1861, musket rifles with mini ball bullets blast across the Mason-Dixon line from both sides. Bayonets in my neighbors’ neck if they’re close enough, gun-smoke and tensions in the air, this won’t end for another four years. The American Civil War, a bloody conflict within the same nation. On the backs of Blacks was built the wealthiest…. Slave ships were packed and hearts were hardened. Never asked to be here how unfair that we’re the problem….
Welcome then changes the line to talk about the preborn in the womb, stating, “Never asked to be here, how unfair that they’re the problem,” and moves his hand in cradle formation near his stomach, alluding to the preborn babies in America who are targeted for abortion.
Black pro-life poet Shawn Welcome on abortion and Black genocide
He continues:
All in the name of freedom. Party like a rock-star while little ones are dying.
Silent screams from injected saline and dreams you will never hear because little lungs were punctured before they could fully function. Who will be a voice for the voiceless? The abolitionists?
How many freight trains of injustice will roll by behind church buildings while service inside sings louder? Hands in the air, pump up the volume…drowning out the rumblings of oppression. No formal funerals, nor miniature caskets, only the likes of medical waste to management tell me how many pounds of flesh do you pick up for profit?…
… I know you don’t want to go through with this, but are these counselors counseling or selling a service? Tell me, who’s gonna sue an abortionist for malpractice if the purpose is to keep it in the hush? If they don’t care about your baby, they don’t care about your body. This is called makin’ it rain under the umbrella of women’s health….
Welcome ends the poem this way:
History repeats itself.
The new civil war where African Americans are still on the front lines. No jury.
Dying for the same reasons: They’re not human – fully!
Slavery wouldn’t have ended if it depended on quiet. Folks willing to take a bullet to the head and some riots. And I’m all for non-violence because words can change trends. But worse than words from my enemies is the silence from my friends!
This month as Black History Month is celebrated, we are reminded that countless Black babies are not with us today because they were targeted for abortion. There are also Black mothers, who have been tragically killed by legal abortion, who are also missing. Let’s commit to work together to ensure that all life will be celebrated, no matter the race or gender, from the moment of conception to natural death.
