“The rain has stopped”

Noah Humphrey 6:15 am, Apr 15, 2022

Contributing Reporter

Sophie Henry

Introduction

As a person who has lived in South Central LA and is currently a settler of the sovereign nation of Hawaii, I wrote this poem about the injustice both on Hawaii and the U.S (Mainland/Turtle Island/Etc). The purpose of this poem is to highlight marginalized groups such as the South Central LA youth and the youth in Kalihi on the island of Oahu.

As a poet, I use poetry to address the social issues, particularly the police brutality against the youth that happens around Kalihi and in South Central. The death of Chuukese teen Iremamber Sykap, who was posthumously labeled as an 16-year-old adult on the news; Valentina Orellana-Peralta, a 14-year-old teen shot by police in LA who died in her mother’s arms at a department store; and many marginalized victims of police brutality. They are who I call out in my poem.

This poem is my call for ‘just aloha,’ a term I’ve coined that means creating joy and justice in low-income communities without true social justice. ‘Just aloha’ is one viable path that will create joy and justice within not only KVIBE but the Native Hawaiian community as a whole. ‘The Rain Has Stopped’ shows that we have to unite in love and understanding. We need to search for solutions amidst the injustice in low income communities. For me, regardless whether it’s Vernon, KKV, Kam IV — I told y’all boys I’ll find a way to shout you out🤙🏾— Crenshaw, Kalihi, or Compton, I just want to give space for those who are in need of umbrellas.

“The rain has stopped”

No more rain in the corners of South Central

No more tears in the rain of faces for Kalihi

You look ahead and note that a child is on the ground

Lifeless, heavy, barren, and unable to get up

You look ahead to see the officers

You look ahead to see the helicopter

You pick up the news and see the headlines

A young Micronesian boy…..A young Hispanic girl….

Who wanted to see sunny days but was blocked by reports falsified and smeared.

And when they have to make their own decisions

Break other’s umbrellas, or are placed in circumstances unregarded by the rain

Cry out to the leaders who say they see them

There is nothing but remorse, false promises, and negligence

Happy days for the officers, happy days for the policies, systematic oppression

2 kids and their family’s lives changed forever

All those involved changed forever

People play games all the time with the headlines

16-year-old adult, a 14-year-old girl shopping for clothes with her family

And yet end the bullets with the same rounds, just look across the street

The mall, or a system designed to drag bullets and lack of detail on youth

And you see the pain of the marginalized

You see the sunshine coming from KVIBE, to get the boys out of the rain

You see a Place Called Home, getting South Central kids out of the rain

You see a family trying to keep their young children out of the rain

Iremamber Sykap and all the Micronesian boys, I hear you

Valentina Orellana-Peralta and all the children vying for life in Los Angeles, I hear you

This is why when I get an umbrella, I get two

One to hide my tears, and one to bounce off the stigmas

Shout to Justice for Valentina, Justice for Iremamber to make the rain standstill

And when the rain stops, let’s enjoy the sunshine for as long as we are here

RIP Iremamber “Baby” Sykap/ Rip Starsky/ RIP Valentina Orellana-Peralta