Delaware

With its business friendly laws, Delaware, the second smallest state in the Union, boasts that more than half of all US publicly traded companies and around two thirds of the Fortune 500 are incorporated here. I didn't spend much time in Delaware, but I did stop off to take a picture of a prison before I was shooed away, the all-male Sussex Correctional Institution. Most of the inmates are black, but only 22% of the state's population are. On NPR, on the radio, as I drove through the state, there was an interview with a journalist. He was talking about the experience of black men in America and the number who get incarcerated. Apparently one in three black men in America ends up in prison. In eleven states, at least 1 in 20 adult black males is in prison, and there are more black males in prison in the USA than are enrolled in college or university. It disfigures communities, leaving children without fathers and women without partners and creating a section of society where prison is a rite of passage for many.

Oh, what did Della wear boy,
What did Della wear?
What did Della wear boy,
What did Della wear?
She wore a bran’ new jersey,
She wore a bran’ new jersey,
She wore a bran’ new jersey,
That’s what she did wear.
Oh, why did Calla ‘phone ya,
Why did Calla phone?
Why did Calla ‘phone ya,
Was she all alone?
She called to say how ar’ ya,
She called to say how ar’ ya,
She called to say how ar’ ya,
That’s why she did call.
Oh, what did Mrs sip, boy,
What did Mrs sip?
What did Mrs sip, boy,
Through her pretty lips?
She sipped a mina-soda,
She sipped a mina-soda,
She sipped a mina-soda,
That’s what she did sip.
Oh, where as Ore gone, boy,
Where has Ore gone?
If you want, I’ll ask ‘er,
I’ll ask ‘er where she’s gone
She went to pay her taxes,
She went to pay her taxes,
She went to pay her taxes,
That’s where she has gone.
Oh, how did Wiscon sin, boy,
She stole a new brass key,
Too bad that Arkan saw, boy,
And so did Tenne see?
It made poor Flora die, boy,
It made poor Flora die, you see,
She died in misery, boy,
She died in misery.
Oh, what did Della wear boy,
What did Della wear?
What did Della wear boy,
What did Della wear?