{"id":5921,"date":"2025-11-17T09:39:04","date_gmt":"2025-11-17T17:39:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/palaver\/?p=5921"},"modified":"2025-11-17T14:44:36","modified_gmt":"2025-11-17T22:44:36","slug":"what-they-do","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/palaver\/issue-18-fall-2025\/what-they-do\/","title":{"rendered":"What They Do"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
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What They Do<\/h1>\n\n\n<\/div>\n \n \n By<\/span>Omar Mejia<\/strong>\n \n November 17, 2025<\/span>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n <\/div><\/div>\n\n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n\n \n
\n \n \n Share\n <\/span>\n \n \n <\/svg>\n <\/span>\n Copy Link<\/span>\n <\/a>\n \n \n <\/svg>\n <\/span>\n Facebook<\/span>\n <\/a>\n \n \n \n\n<\/svg>\n\n <\/span>\n X<\/span>\n <\/a>\n \n \n <\/svg>\n <\/span>\n LinkedIn<\/span>\n <\/a>\n \n \n \n \n <\/svg>\n <\/span>\n Bluesky<\/span>\n <\/a>\n \n \n <\/svg>\n <\/span>\n Email<\/span>\n <\/a>\n <\/span>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div><\/div>\n \n\n\n\n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n\n \n \n
\n\n \n

They\u2019re posted up at the corner store every day.
\nI know what they do.<\/p>\n

Car pulls up,
\nStops,
\nOG walks up to the window,
\nWalks away,
\nCar pulls off.
\nNo stepping inside the store.
\nI know what they do.<\/p>\n

I pass \u2019em by on my way to school.
\nOG smiles at me.
\nI smile back,
\nAnd continue walking,
\nWhile knowing what they do.<\/p>\n

One fiend on every block asking for change,
\nThey\u2019re never at the corner store, but always near that way.
\nFiends speak to me and smoke around,
\nBut you\u2019d never catch \u2019em and the corner store men sharing the same ground.
\nA mother pushing a stroller approaches the store,
\nYounger homies give her space to enter.
\nShe thanks OG for being able to buy her baby chips from the money he lent her.
\nThat mother\u2019s one of many alike.
\nNo fathers and their children,
\nOr fathers and mothers and their children,
\nEver enter that store.
\nThey\u2019d never congregate that way.
\nIt\u2019s only single mothers or worn out old ladies,
\nWho to be in a convo with OG would go out of they way.
\nBabies and chips, babies and chips.
\nI know what they do.<\/p>\n

Three drive-bys in three months.
\nCandles laid all over the streets.
\nOG\u2019s gone for a minute,
\nThen back the next week.
\nAnd fathers decrease.
\nI know what they do.<\/p>\n

With a sense of pride in myself,
\nI let OG know what\u2019s transpired.
\nMy voice echoes on that quiet street so wide.
\n\u201cI\u2019m going to college this fall with a full ride scholarship.\u201d
\nHe reaches out his hand, gripping mine firm,
\nBecause we both know,
\nNot many young men out this neighborhood make it.
\nHe grins at me, then lets go my hand.
\nHis eyes meet mine for an extra second.
\nThere\u2019s no melancholy coming in.
\nIn his eyes is a genuine smile,
\nAs it\u2019s always been.<\/p>\n

The next day I pass, younger homies say congratulations.
\nI don\u2019t know any of their names, just their occupation.
\nI give them thanks, and go about my way.
\nThis one fiend lays on the street up ahead, her eyes astray.
\nShe glances up, and the anxiety in my heart pours
\nAs I keep on stepping.
\nI give her no time of day.
\nIt\u2019s not her fault what they do.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s easy to neglect when the damage is less direct.
\nBills pile up, evictions have risen.
\nThe whole neighborhood has a cloudy vision.
\nBut I\u2019m just tryna take my lil sister to the park.
\nShe loves riding her bike.
\nSo I\u2019ll keep on walking, I\u2019ll play my part.
\nJust nods I allow of my talkative sister as we pass them by.
\nShe’ll have no convo, I\u2019ll fight her stubbornness.
\nLike her finally wearing the helmet I ordered.
\nWe\u2019ll pass by the corner store each weekend.
\nAnd every time,
\nI’ll tell her face forward.
\nBecause I know what they do.<\/p>\n

Why is it people who look like me are out posted on the block?
\nWhy is it our brothers left and right get addicted to rock?
\nWhy is it our sisters have to clean up the mess?
\nOr die themselves from the same substances that left our brothers dead?
\nWhy is it contaminated white powder in the flatlands curse the people?
\nWhile rich white lines in the hills bless rich white lines?
\nNarratives of a loud minority have working class people scared of working class people.
\nWe\u2019ve villainized our own soul.
\nAnd one people\u2019s shattered dreams, is another people\u2019s profit.
\nAsking questions without seeking answers has taken a toll.
\nThat answer, it\u2019s becoming more clear.
\nWhy the divide\u2019s so strong,
\nAnd why what\u2019s fake is true.
\nWhy in the first place we have a corner store crew.
\nSearch for Russell City.
\nAnd you\u2019ll see
\nwhat they<\/em> do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n <\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\n\n \n \n
\n\n \n

Omar Mejia<\/strong> is a first-generation college student, first-year Journalism major from Oakland, California. After having his life transformed through civic engagement in his sophomore year of high school, he began community organizing in the local, state, and national communities. Omar is committed to keeping a foot in the community as he positions himself for a career as a political journalist. Find him on LinkedIn<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n <\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":288,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[60],"tags":[51],"class_list":["post-5921","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-issue-18-fall-2025","tag-poetry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhat They Do<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/palaver\/issue-18-fall-2025\/what-they-do\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What They Do - Palaver Arts Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/palaver\/issue-18-fall-2025\/what-they-do\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Palaver Arts Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/palaver.arts.magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-11-17T17:39:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-11-17T22:44:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/palaver\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/175\/2023\/06\/palaver-logo.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"710\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"198\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"akcannon\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/palaver\/issue-18-fall-2025\/what-they-do\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/palaver\/issue-18-fall-2025\/what-they-do\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"akcannon\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/live-usc-dornsife.pantheonsite.io\/palaver\/#\/schema\/person\/8ac801b3c8176b6860207b43ecbe9e78\"},\"headline\":\"What They Do\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-17T17:39:04+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-11-17T22:44:36+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/palaver\/issue-18-fall-2025\/what-they-do\/\"},\"wordCount\":3,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/live-usc-dornsife.pantheonsite.io\/palaver\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"Poetry\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Issue 18: Fall 2025\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/palaver\/issue-18-fall-2025\/what-they-do\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/palaver\/issue-18-fall-2025\/what-they-do\/\",\"name\":\"What They Do - 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