By CELESTE M. HART
Darrell Kelley, social activist, author, and musical artist, released a DVD, titled, Take Your Knees Off Our Necks, September 2021, exemplifying the killings of Blacks by police and white vigilantes. The 10 brief, powerful tracks depict police killing Blacks, including, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Derrick Scott, Andrew Brown, Daunte Wright, Jacob Blake and Rayshard Brooks.
“You murdered an innocent, unarmed Black man… in broad daylight. I thought the KKK only came out in the middle of the night. Ahmaud was his name,” excerpt from Kelley’s song.
“I’m frustrated and mad another Black man is dead because of police brutality,” excerpt from Kelley song about Floyd.
“A young Black man got murdered…he called out his mother’s name,” excerpt from Kelley’s Scott song.
Kelley’s song style, a mixture of southern blues, R&B, gospel and jazz, with the background protest chant behind each song, softly, ‘we want justice, we want justice,’ invokes painful awareness and action to fight police brutality. Kelley said he is a ‘vessel speaking truth to power.’
The images and videos in the DVD depict the anguish of mothers, fathers, and activists in protests, memorials and vigils for their dead children. At Ahmauds’ killers’ trial, Black Pastors Day, Kelley brought his customized black coffin with a mannequin inside, inscribed in white letters, the names, of police murdered victims and those brutalized. Kelley said the coffin helps bring attention to the issues.
“When I drive my coffin around in the hearse, I feel as though I hear the voices of the victims telling me, ‘Don’t stop fighting for us.’ It’s been frightening and painful to witness what has been going on in my sacred America,” said Kelley.
Take Your Knees Off Our Necks also includes song titles, Black Wall Street, Systemic Racism and Black Lives Matter. Kelley, a spiritual leader, performer, restaurant entrepreneur, native Bostonian, now based in Atlanta, founded Viral Records, authored, The Book of UWGEAM, an explanation of religion principles-unity, love, and respect, regardless of spiritual choice. Since the Take Your Knees release, Kelley sponsored and participated in marches for recent police involved murders of James Lowery, killed in December 2021, Florida, and February 2022, rally for Fred Cox, killed in 2020, Greensboro, NC
“It’s a shame I have to keep writing these songs….I’m gonna keep writing my songs until we get these racist police off the streets,” excerpt from Kelley’s Systemic Racism
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