Shattered Dreams of Ending Apartheid
(A reflection on Jonathon Kozal)
By Lenny Giardino

My days of social activism are reaching the twilight of my life

I fought the good fight

American ideas of Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks

Soon to be a memory….

Was Malcolm right?

Should black America have taken actions into their own hands?

Does the government only respond to violence?

Division is not in the best interest of the union

Do we have a union anymore? Did we ever have a union?

Was America’s reaction to OJ, Michael Jackson, and Katrina symbolic or our great divide among the races?

Did anyone listen?

What about Pineapple

Who will listen to her

Who will carry the torch for democracy when Jonathon is gone?

Will it be you, will it be me

We better start to listen, for integration leads to a common culture

While the great divide will create civil strife

Ooooh Jonathon, how I wish they listened to you…..

Maybe we will be lucky, and you will live to 102

Please fight the good fight for another day

Because one more activist has joined the fight for equality on that fateful night at MCLA