Baxter
Richard Zobon Baxter (Negro Spiritual 121)
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The nickname "Negro Spiritual 121" was adopted by Baxter as a freedom statement to symbolize his journey to freedom, inspired by the hidden freedom codes in Negro Spiritual songs that Slaves sang. Sentenced to 121 years for drug charges, he reclaimed his freedom after only five years by studying legal codes in the prison law library.
Powerless as a high school dropout, freedom seemed impossible until he changed his life and found his POWER. Baxter is now a college graduate, paralegal, writer, actionist, and nonprofit founder. For the past nine years, he has hosted community events and spoken publicly through his nonprofit #racismstinks. Baxter's community safety video "PULL OVER," which gives best practices in a traffic stop, has over 2.2 million views on Instagram. |
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Pull Over (Protecting yourself at traffic stops)
We Gotta Take Care of Us = Love
Negro Spiritual 121's call to action, "We Gotta Take Care of Us" is to remind us that family is the beginning of community and we are all family.
To achieve true freedom, we gotta unite and share our knowledge and resources like brothers and sisters in a family. We can no longer wait for someone else to bring us justice, reparations, or equality. We must have unity.. We must have love. We Gotta Take Care of Us!
To achieve true freedom, we gotta unite and share our knowledge and resources like brothers and sisters in a family. We can no longer wait for someone else to bring us justice, reparations, or equality. We must have unity.. We must have love. We Gotta Take Care of Us!
Building Our Own Table = Freedom
Historically, the Black Community was self-sufficient out of necessity due to various state and federal laws that were racially discriminatory. Negro Spiritual 121 believes that our community is in a “state of emergency,” and we can only progress economically, socially, and educationally when we revive the spirit of self-determination and self-sufficiency which built Greenwood. Many groups, programs, and organizations are doing great work, but we must unite.
We Gotta Take Care of Us!
We Gotta Take Care of Us!
Personal Ownership Wins Every Roadblock!
Keep Your Power!