144: One Hundred Forty-Four Poems and Essays for God, Love, Truth, Justice, Peace, and Hip Hop

144―ONE HUNDRED FORTY-FOUR POEMS AND ESSAYS FOR GOD, LOVE, TRUTH, JUSTICE, PEACE, AND HIP HOP I STARTED THIS AS A LOVE LETTER TO HIP HOP which sustained me in almost every way from my teens all the way into my thir- ties. This book is a document of my growth as a writer, as a father, thinker and human being. Some of these poems are the arrhythmic rants of a 20-year-old idealist who is completely open to the world. Others are me bleeding dysfunction all over the page. All of these poems are mine―they are all me. Looking around at the world, right now the police are acting like lynch mobs, killing black people, men and youth at a rate of one every 28 hours.This is a continuation of the white supremacist trend to suppress black resistance. We must continue to resist by all means. We have to use everything inside us and within our reach to resist op- pression and to thrive. It is our duty to fight and win. This book is my first lasting entry to the fight. (Malcolm Shabazz Hoover 144)