The MOVEment
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Chris Courtney Martin tells us that they write because “it's the only thing I know how to do without question. Been that way since I was a kid.” Amen to their knowing how to write without question—my personal opinion and that of many jurists in a plethora of competitive writing arenas. Every word Chris writes is a complete study—had me in the dictionary looking up stuff I never heard before (especially in Blaq Andi, included in this issue).
To name a few, Chris’ list of award-winning credits includes two poetry and prose collections, the AFRO HORROR podcast, the film Charcuterie, the screenplay Pale Horse and the feature-length documentary Manic Pixie Panic, which “examines the psi phenomena of ‘spiritual emergency’ through the lens of the world’s leading experts, co-produced under Martin’s Cryptid Content Media.” They have received a host of industry honors and awards, a predictable outcome of their stellar academic history, from selection for the Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth, to being named as a top participant in the Philadelphia Young Playwrights Program and graduating Cum Laude from Drexel University with a bachelor’s degree in Screenwriting & Playwriting, with minors in Film & Video and Art History.
Beyond the accolades, Chris Courtney Martin’s writing touches essential places in the collective psyche, reminding readers and viewers of the depths and accessibility of what’s truly important … and possible.
The MOVEment
BY CHRIS COURTNEY MARTIN
Copyright 2024. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
…Has been gentrified…
Philadelphia has been gentrified.
6221 Osage sold at a premium.
The Search Engine will not let you see it today.
Satellites close their eyes on the gentrified.
Philadelphia’s MOVEment
Has been gentrified.
That Quaker has them shaking.
I stand shaken at the statement.
West Philly has been gentrified.
To Hell and then backward.
He has never seen The Wire.
We’ve been stripped down for the copper.
My pain has been gentrified.
Anger must be gentle-fied.
Rage has been gentrified.
That white boy has them electrified!
Suffering has been gentrified.
Black power must be gente-fied.
Our power must be gentle-fied.
Our children never gently died.
Philadelphia has been white-lined.
And I may, if I may go the way of
The Kwames, Nkrumah and Ture.
They stood so dignified, ‘til the day
NKRUMAH. DIED.
Justice cannot be gentrified.
Justice cannot be gentrified.
The MOVEment will not be
Gentrified.