I am now a black woman
Afraid to go out at night
Because some cops seem to think
That wearing a badge makes them right
(This is my cry for the innocent)
Their oath says that their job
Is to protect and to serve
But then they go and kill the innocent
Now isn’t that absurd?
One event in particular
A young man of nineteen
Has died, & with him
His dreams go unseen
I hurt inside, but nothing compares
To the mother’s sense of loss, grief, & despair
The people deserve
Some justice & truth
As some compensation
For the loss of their youth
(This is my cry for the innocent)
It is sad, when a male friend
Calls you to say:
“Hey Gia, guess what?  A
cop held a gun to my head today.”
     Or…
“This time I was cuffed,
& then slapped around
& one cop put his foot on my neck
after throwing me down.”
I don’t want to have to
Sit, wait, worry, & wonder
If I’m gonna be the next victim
Pulled over
I don’t want to have to wonder
If the police are gonna lie
I don’t want to have to wonder
If the police are on my side
I don’t want o have to hear
About another tragedy
I don’t want to have to worry each night
Praying it won’t be me.
(This is my cry for the innocent)

It’s scary to know that one can die
At the hands of those who are there to protect
And the fact that we have to beg for the truth
Is even harder for me to accept.
(Truth is my cry for the innocent

© 1999, Gia Scott-Heron