Moses Moody reflects on poem he wrote back in high school to portray black man struggles

Back when Moses Moody was in his senior year at Montverde Academy, he wrote a powerful poem called “He Beat the Streets,” which is still relevant to this day. This is why the Warriors player recently reflected on the words he wrote back in high school, as he personalized the struggle of the black community in the United States.

With the hopes to empower the next generation to strive for prosperity, the 21-year-old hopes his story will continue to inspire. Ever since he was young, Moses was a basketball star that averaged 11.6 points in Florida, and heavily contributed to his school’s 25-0 undefeated record in his final regular-season campaign.

However, off the court he was just another black teenager trying to build a future for himself and his family. One of his biggest inspirations was his uncle, who spent 18 years in jail. “All because he had this undone infatuation with pride, he had to put that pride to the side to spend cold nights with straight killers,” Moody shared.

The athlete took inspirations from his uncle’s testimony to explain how it has become far too often to witness good kids suffering from lack of resources, which only leads to imprisonment at a young age. Moses explained how around him, too many teenagers had the odds stacked against them.

“When he was inside, I’m sure he had dreams and aspirations to change his situation, maybe even further his education,” shared the Warriors forward. “They want to learn and be something and that fire’s taken away at a young age.”

The third-year NBA player laments the fact that the young black community depends on sports and music to overcome systematic racism. “I’m sorry to say I’m starting to believe the only way to make it out the struggle is put a ball in the hoop or rap, it’s so hard to make it out,” he said.

“I’m tired of seeing 5-0 who murdered another unarmed black male, but I guess we’re always armed because in their eyes, pigment is equivalent to a pistol,” Moody explained.

The Golden State athlete is convinced that the media is part of the root problem which avoids his community to thrive

Moses has lived the systematic troubles in society that keeps the black community from overcoming itself ever since he was young, but now that he’s part of a successful industry, he can see things even more clearly. The 21-year-old believes that the media is great part of this problem.

“Cinematography is used to paint my people in a bad light,” the young player explained. “Are you willing to learn this lesson, or are you distracted with my complexion?”

Soon-to-be Arkansas Razorback Moses Moody shared his senior speech, which was an original poem about what it's like to be a black man in America.https://t.co/kUtzVRoueE pic.twitter.com/z5AknH2Arw

— THV11 (@THV11) June 1, 2020

Moody is well aware of the amount of black men and women who’ve obtained success worldwide, including himself. As he’s averaging career-highs in points and minutes played this campaign, he hopes to continue to inspire younger generations to achieve the same.

“An impoverished black male making his way out of the streets is the equivalent to a flower blooming through the concrete,” he expressed. “To be where you are, wherever you are is something to be proud of. To just keep going shows that you are a flower that goes through the concrete.”