Revolution by poet Jillian Hanesworth from Stephen Rosenthal on Vimeo.
The revolution will not be televised
The revolution will not be streamed live on Facebook, Twitter, or IG TV
You will not be able to start it over if you missed a part
And you won’t need to tap it twice to see it’s heart
The revolution will not be brought to you by Nike, the NFL, or Jay-z
We will watch it succeed in HD without taking a knee
The revolution will not be televised
The revolution will be live
The revolution will thrive
And the revolution will rhyme
The revolution will be led by black women who are just tired enough to do it ourselves
It will be rhythmic enough for us to follow the beat
Using drums and tambourines focusing on the two and four beats
Like a secret language that comes naturally
It will get louder when it’s calling for the people’s attention
And quieter when it wants the people to listen
People listen
The revolution will be direct and unwavering without concern of being looked at as angry
It will be as big and natural as a black panther’s afro without worrying about opportunity
It will be as interwoven as locs but there will be nothing dreadful about it
And when light shines on the revolution it will create a halo around it
The revolution will rhyme
It will be syncopated
It will harmonize
It will be call and repeat
The revolution will rhyme
The revolution will leave no man behind
It will not be developed just to be displaced
It’s focus will not be extracted and refocused or repurposed
And the burden of education and comfort will not be placed on the oppressed
While understanding and tolerance is gifted to the oppressor
You will not be able to binge watch the revolution
Rewinding the comfortable triumphs and fast forwarding through the hurt
You will not be able to DVR the revolution or avoid spoiler alerts
Or save it for a day that you choose to see it’s worth
You will not be able to mute the revolution for it will be loud
And you will not be able to shame the revolution for it will be proud
The revolution will rhyme
It will hold your attention and retain your momentum
It will float like a butterfly and sting like a bee
It will hit even harder than Muhammad Ali
It will stand on the shoulders of those who died on their knees
Screaming “You can take me from my freedom but you can’t take my freedom from me”
The revolution will hold this country accountable forcing it to keep its promises
Promises that guarantee life liberty and the pursuit of happiness
It will be something to behold
It will be so cinematic that Ava Duvernay will create a documentary about it
It will be a complete overhaul not just a quick fix
The revolution will rhyme
It will not always be politically correct and it will not be required to forgive and forget
The revolution will remember all those who crosses it’s path
With a message fierce enough to make opposition fear its wrath
It will march through the valley of the shadow of death without regret of its path
And it’s coming for what it’s owed refusing to settle for half
The revolution will not be televised
The revolution will be live
The revolution will thrive
And the revolution will rhyme
Jillian Hanesworth was born and raised on the east side of Buffalo, NY. She began writing at the age of 7, when she would write songs for her mother to sing in church. She later took a break from writing to successfully pursue educational goals, and worked to obtain a BA in criminal justice and law focusing on reform. Currently, Jillian is the Director of Leadership Development at Open Buffalo, a nonprofit organization focusing on racial, economic, and ecological justice, and a teaching artist with the Dunbar Project at Ujima Theater. She is the recipient of the 2020 Alt-imate Activist award presented by the WNY Peace Center, as well as a 2021 Buffalo Business First 30 under 30 awardee. Jillian was also named the first ever Poet Laureate in the history of Buffalo after she spent two years advocating for the existence of the role. Jillian loves and lives for the community and exemplifies that in all that she does.
