Street Divas by De'nesha Diamond

Author:De'nesha Diamond
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corp.
Published: 2011-09-29T04:00:00+00:00

Three days after my father was gunned down in our front yard, Momma, Juvon, and I stood huddled together under a lone umbrella while one sobbing person after another stood in front of the closed black and chrome casket and told how my father, the Dough Man, as they called him, either helped pay a light bill or put food on the table when a soldier was either dead or serving a bid. My father was a great man, they said over and over again. The newspapers had it wrong.

“A gangsta? A drug lord? A criminal?” Smokestack thundered in a rising baritone. “These are labels society tries to shackle us with every day. The white man ain’t happy unless he keeps us chained down. And trust and believe that it’s by any means possible.”

A chorus of agreement ensued, despite the few nervous glances we made toward a line of police officers who also stood watch. Momma said they were there for additional police protection, but we trusted the police about as much as we trusted the Gangster Disciples.

“Darcell Washington was the very definition of a man. He was a husband, a father, a brother, and a son. Above all that, he was a good lieutenant with the Peoples Nation. He was a friend when you needed a friend. A brother when you needed a brother.”

There was a small ring of “amens” while I sucked in a deep breath and wished that this whole thing would be over soon, but Smokestack was just getting started.

“All I’m saying is that the world outside has forfeited their rights to judge us—how we put food on our table, how we keep the lights on, or how we look out for one another.”

“Aww, this nigga gonna start preachin’ now,” someone said from behind us.

“Well all right now!”Aunt Nicky held up her right hand to Jesus and started waving it around.

Smokestack smiled. “It’s important now more than ever that we who have been blessed into the Nation have to stick together and hold the line—even against brothers and sisters who look like us but want to snatch the food out of our mouths—out of your baby’s mouth. Those slobs shed Darcell’s blood in front of his house—in front of his children.” He gestured toward me and Juvon.

I dropped my head lower and prayed that he’d hurry the hell up. I don’t want to stand out here all damn day in the rain. I twisted around to see who all came, and it looked like the whole Vice Lord family turned out. I guess I should feel good about that, but so far I still feel nothing. I don’t know what it is, but I feel like a huge part of me died when the lights went out of my daddy’s eyes.

For the past twenty-four hours, everyone kept telling me that it’s okay for me to grieve—like I was waiting around for permission or something. Frankly, all the waterworks was rocking my nerves. All those fucking tears weren’t going to suddenly help my daddy rise up from the dead.

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