Trayvon Martin vs. PFC Johnson, LeVena Lynn

A poetic tribute...

Lavena Johnson and Trayvon Martin

(CLEVELAND) - There are so many names, so many stories we have followed where Black Americans are at the receiving end of injustice; cut down in the prime of their life. From the largest names, like Dr. Martin Luther King, to the names of every day citizens whose lives were robbed because of the color of their skin; Sean Bell, and Emmett Till, Louis Maxwell... now Trayvon Martin and perhaps one of the most stinging deaths, that of a beautiful young woman with a loving family and her whole life ahead of her, Levena Johnson.

Luke and I have each written at length about her loss and what it means; how it is one more example of racist treatment of a crime; how her death became an utter joke of an investigation, labeled 'suicide' after she had been raped, beaten savagely, and had her pubic area set on fire, she shot to death with an M-16.

Yup, some suicide that was.

It happened at the Balad air base in Iraq, where I spent a few weeks in 2008. Her murder was probably committed by a contractor, and it was sufficiently covered up.

Now young Trayvon Martin is forced to join this list of sacrificed people in a nation that never healed from its inception as a slave trading government. People still fully believe that Blacks are not equal, of course this is a regional problem and it is larger by far in the south, but it exists everywhere.
- foreword by Tim King

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Trayvon Martin vs. PFC Johnson, LeVena Lynn Weeks later & the plight of Trayvon is still gathering steam, Around the globe, the entire world, we have heard and seen, Thousands of comments, protest marches, enter the, “DOJ,” Almost 7 years (July 19, 2005) since LeVena passed away. Johnson resided in an area safer than any gated community, She was a soldier in the military protected by the U.S. Army, Not just one neighborhood watch as everyone packed a gun, And it was the findings of the, “DOJ” what an M-16 had done. Arms were too short to hold against her body & pull the trigger, Beaten, teeth cracked, body set on fire, suicide, yeah, go figure, Not to mention sexually violated but lye destroyed all the DNA, Despite factual evidence against the findings her case went away. There is a documentary that in detail outlines the impossibility, That, no matter how it is interpreted no way could this PFC, Have committed all the atrocities against herself and still been, Able to drag herself from A to B and bring her life to an end. Young innocent body enclosed in a casket draped by a U.S. Flag, Initial reports of a self inflicted gunshot given to her mom & dad, She was not wearing a, “Hoodie” but donned armed forces green, Such traumatic violence in my entire life I have never, ever seen. Well, not at the hands of one’s self as only others could inflict, So much damage, that is unless she was a magician, neat trick, Actually not whereas she suffered death did not the stunt fail? While multitudes want Zimmerman arrested and thrown in jail. Where were Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton and others in the fight? They attended Michael Jackson’s funeral another photo opt right? This is in no way to diminish the injustice done to Trayvon Martin, But, why not the same support for PFC Johnson, LeVena Lynn? By Luke Easter

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Trayvon Martin

Mar-24-2-12: Urgent Response to Racism: Police Screening Needed - Barry-Lee Coyne Salem-News.com

Mar-24-2-12: Trayvon Martin's Parents Speak Out Over Son's Death - Salem-News.com

Mar-23-2-12: Trayvon Miller, and Thoughts about his Death - Kenneth G. Ramey Salem-News.com

Mar-22-2-12: Why Trayvon Martin's Death Should Matter to YouSpecial for Salem-News.com - MSgt Steve Maynor, Jr., USMC

Mar-22-2-12: Trayvon Martin RIP As U R Not Alone - Poetry by Luke Easter Salem-News.com

Mar-22-2-12: Half a Million Americans Prepared to Take Down George Zimmerman - Political Perspective by Tim King Salem-News.com

Mar-19-2-12: Hate Crime For Gays But Not Blacks?Poetry by Luke Easter Salem-News.com

Lavena Johnson

Feb-15-2010: Poetic Verses Shed Light on LaVena Johnson's Military Rape and Murder in Iraq - Luke Easter Tim King Salem-News.com

Dec-18-2008: Army Should Reopen Investigation Into Death of Pfc Lavena Johnson (VIDEO) - Tim King Salem-News.com

Jan-10-2009: Tim King Joins Radio Free Nation Tonight to Discuss LaVena Johnson Case - Salem-News.com

Apr-26-2010: Louis Maxwell (In Memorial) - Poetry by Luke Easter Salem-News.com

May-30-2009: Nooses in Iraq - Salem-News.com

Luke Easter is a poet who writes about things that are very close to the heart of Salem-News.com. Another former U.S. Marine, Luke heals the world with an approach that reaches people on a different level, one known for centuries, yet too often forgotten in the one we live in.

We live in a world of social & economic injustice. The main reason for founding America in the first place was to relieve the oppression of the King of England. Patrick Henry said it best, “give me liberty or give me death.” And yet, all too often death seems to be the only way out. Why is there such a high suicide rate especially among teens, in the land of the free & the home of the brave? What makes headlines? Good news? Ha! More depressing stories than anything else. I feel poetry takes an edge off the hurt of bad news while still delivering it but in a, “glitzy” sort of way. Giving a different perspective. Kind of like slap in the face as opposed to a knife in the back. At least with the slap you’ll live to see another day and you will know whom it’s from. I wasn’t here for the beginning of the world but at 59, I just might be here for the end.

Even though it’s still a knife, rhyme poetry helps to dull the blade. And that’s my job. You can write to Luke Easter at: lyricsfromlucas@aol.com