Allie Gath
Photos Editor
Reginald Dwayne Betts read poems from his two books “Shahid Reads his own Palm” and “Bastards of the Reagan Era” in a packed Ecumenical Center on Thursday afternoon.
Betts was introduced by Professor Daisy Ball, assistant professor of sociology and coordinator of criminology, and FSU student Chynere Scott-Dottin. Scott-Dottin opened the reading with her own poem, “Those Who Trespass Against Us,” which she said was inspired by Betts’ poetry.
Betts’ first poem, “For the city that nearly broke me,” discussed the history of police violence in the United States. Betts referenced a specific case of police violence, but changed the victim’s name.
Betts said, “No indictment follows Malik’s death/follows smoke running from a fired pistol.”
Malik is just a stand-in name for an actual person, but Betts was highlighting a case where the police officer shot a black man unjustly and did not go to prison.
After reading this poem, Betts wanted to ensure that the audience understood his reference when he said, “Someone is tossing a trash can through Sal’s window calling that revolution.”
Sal’s window is a reference to the movie “Do the Right Thing,” where a black man is killed in a chokehold by police and riots ensue, said Betts.
Betts went on to say chokeholds became an symptom of police brutality in the U.S. to the point that they were banned.
Betts read his poem, “The Invention of Crack,” which concerns about the crack epidemic and the war on drugs.
Betts quoted the President of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, saying, “Drugs represent the new lynch mob that is more effectively killing our people than the old lynch mobs.”
Betts said crack has been lethal in the black community.
Betts added, “The Reagan era, the cocaine era,” a line from “The Invention of Crack,” which alludes to the fact that much of the black community blames the Reagan administration for the epidemic that is affecting their community.
The last poems Betts read were three from a collection related to the hip-hop group Public Enemy.
The poems focused on the discussion of his journey to “Red Onion,” the first supermax prison in Virginia. Betts spoke about how even the drivers taking them to “Red Onion” were black, and how a simple change in circumstance could have completely changed their lives.
Betts added, “But if they’d spent another hour on the block, if they’d never Inished high school, if they’d never left for basic training, maybe they end up here – shackled, cuSed.”