March of the Compassionate Neighbor: Selected Poems

On August 28, 1963, Black Americans came to Washington, DC to demand equal rights and protections under the law. During his rousing I Have a Dream speech, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. alluded to a vision in which citizens of every color and creed – individuals that J. A. Faulkerson refers to as Compassionate Neighbors – worked together to create a more perfect union. But 61 years later, we find ourselves at an inflection point, one defined by chaos and turmoil instead of peace and tranquility.

In March of the Compassionate Neighbor: Selected Poems, J. A. Faulkerson offers twenty poems that speak of the important role the Compassionate Neighbor Mindset plays in guiding the global village toward a more lasting peace. Many of the poems provide stern critiques of individuals who opt to be Conquering Oppressors, as their ancestors’ lying, cheating, stealing, and murdering during previous generations has prevented us, their contemporaries, from taking full advantage of opportunities to display the love and compassion that its racially and ethnically diverse members need to grow together as one.

Faulkerson asserts that the Conquering Oppressor wants us to be conservatively complacent so he can maintain a status quo that allows him to maintain a type of self-ordained supremacy that affords his ilk and him privileges not offered to others. But since all men (and women) are created by God as equals, Faulkerson admonishes the WOKE among us to heed the call of the Compassionate Neighbor, her instructions to allow love and compassion to inform our Progressive march toward liberty, fairness, and justice.

Includes bonus content: “True Build: A Black Wall Street Story.”