Openly gay Broadway actor and Kinky Boots alum, Timothy Ware-Hill, is using his artistry to
respond to the latest shooting of an unarmed Black man. Hill released the spoken word piece "Cops and Robbers" to his social media platforms on Thursday.
"This poem is for "Ahmaud Arbery and all the Black men, women and children who have been victims of racial profiling, police brutality, loss of life and other injustices for just being US," wrote Ware-Hill on a Facebook post describing the video.
"Cops and Robbers" comes on the heels of the arrest of father and son duo, Gregory and Travis McMichael, who are now in custody for the February shooting of Arbery.
Originally a piece written for his musical "A Taste of Chocolate," Ware-Hill tells Living Out Loud 2.0 that "sadly, the poem still has relevance."
"Our parents grew up having to fight this, and as a kid, I never imagined that we would still be here when we became adults," says Ware-Hill. "But here we are over and over and over again."
From "Cops and Robbers:"
Our cries of injustice are yelled into a void
But it's just us, they fail to avoid using excessive force with
Cause America condones it
Cause even when Black is in the light
They still don't see shit
Ware-Hill adds, "I look forward to the day when I don't have to use my artistry for this. But until that day, those of us who can, should speak out in our own unique ways and let our voices be heard."
Watch "Cops and Robbers" below: