The following poem is the brainchild of activist and author Jen Marlowe and prison activist and author Kenneth Foster Jr. . First connecting through Marlowe’s “I AM TROY DAVIS” bookclub, Kenneth and Jen became good friends over the years. In support of the Davis family, Kenneth began sending artwork to Jen to be auctioned off and the proceeds to be split with the Davis family. Knowing the Davis plight firsthand Kenneth was inspired to write poetry about Troy’s fight. The poems touched Jen so much that she decided to turn the literary pieces into soundtracks. So, Jen reached into her archives of fabulous poets and asked them to perform the pieces. Kenneth knowing quite a few of his own spoken word artists asked if they could unite on the tracks. The following is what took place.This is a testament that not only do such cases inspire the world, but that people on the outside can reach to the inside and make some powerful things happen. Kenneth has done so much with his life and Jen has given him a platform to keep that life thriving. Please enjoy the following poem.
14 May 2017
Martina Davis-Correia’s birthday was yesterday and today, Mother’s Day, is a fitting day to honor this Mother, this Sister, this Warrior. The video-poem below was written by my friend Kenneth Foster Jr, who is currently serving a life sentence in TX and was formerly on TX’s death row. Deep gratitude to the poets who so beautifully read Kenneth’s words: Samantha Thornhill, Remi Kanazi Aja Monet Bacquie, Jessica Moore, and RodStarz from Rebel Diaz. Powerful words, powerful voices…and a powerful woman who inspired them.