Unspoken
by Katahj Copley

Grade 2 | 5:50 | © 2020

On May 25, 2020, George Floyd was killed when a police officer brutally placed his knee on his neck. This moment not only changed my life, but the world around us. For hundreds of years, the black community has been hushed, pushed, and brutalized by systematic racism. We have had our voices taken away from us. This piece represents a voice for the voiceless. I wanted to show the five stages of grief, they are not in the order of the stages but better yet the stages of the black community's grief.

Denial: The piece seems to not want to start. It's subtle and seems not wanting to start. Another death has come and it seems too unreal.  

Depression: The theme begins to come in. The piece moves into a somber funeral march, a march for the fallen and unarmed.

Bargaining: The piece begins to sway back and forth between beauty and anger. Trying to find ways to get away from this pain. 

Anger: The march reaches its crescendo with the voices of the voiceless finally fighting back. With anger and rage the piece goes into a violent scream.

Growth: As the rage strengthen the voices instead of acceptance, we enter growth. The voices have become stronger than before and will continue to grow. The voices seek change and won't stop until change has come.   

Recorded in 2021 by the Denison University Wind Ensemble and Dr. Chris David Westover.