REFLECTIONS ON LIFE, FAITH, JUSTICE, POETRY, TRANSFORMATION, COMMUNITY.
A commentary on Mike Brown
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I had the privilege of having an opinion piece posted by Other Words about Mike Brown. Thankful to all who feel my words are worth re-posting. Click here to read what I wrote.
Last fall amid a panic attack and an episode of vertigo, I submitted an application to the Loft Literary Center to be considered for a 2017 Spoken Word Immersion Fellowship . The entire evening felt like riding a roller coaster with a sick stomach and it left me feeling as though the proposal was as terrible as the experience of getting my submission in. To my utter amazement, the fellowship judges felt differently. My deep gratitude goes out to them ( Sham-e-Ali Nayeem , Danez Smith , and Marisa Carr ), as well as Bao Phi and all the folks at The Loft Literary Center that make this rare opportunity for spoken word artists possible. And what a privilege to be in the company of the other brilliant selected Fellows: Saymoukda Duangphouxay Vongsay , Diego Vazquez and Marcie Rendon , and #BlackTransMagick ( J Mase III & Vita E. ). My project is focused on: 1) learning from communities making poetry and art accessible to people who are D/deaf and hard of hearing; ...
I believe that words have power. Growing up, I loved to read. I loved how books made words come alive off the page. I was an only child of a military family. Meeting new people ever 2 years or so until I reached middle school. My relationship with words was consistent. With people….not so much. I saw each move as an opportunity to start anew, rarely retaining any of the relationships in my previous location. Despite being introverted and shy, I was able to meet new people fairly easily until I reached 6 th grade. I went from being the only Black student in the 5 th grade on Guam to being one of the least “Black” students in a predominately Black school in Florida. Things were very different there – not just the people and the place but also the words. In the afternoons, students gathered for lunch around cafeteria tables to “rank” on one another. Basically, to “rank” on someone was to insult them in the most original a...
I love to sing-a about the moon-a and the June-a and the spring-a. I love to sing-a about the sky of blue-a and a tea for two-a…I love to sing! I have been singing this song from a favorite Merrie Molodies cartoon for most of my life. Today, I decided to make the little owl who sings the song my Facebook profile picture. I wanted to know what the song’s actual words were so I did a quick internet search. I learned that Cab Calloway and Al Jolson had made the song popular. I thought, “It’s a Cab Calloway song! No wonder I like it!” The name Al Jolson sounded familiar but I didn’t remember why. Another quick internet search informed me that he was a popular American singer, actor and comedian. Then came the shock. I chose to look at the images before reading through all the text of the Wikipedia entry for him. What did I find? A picture of him in blackface! My heart sank. My stomach went ...
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