Black Lives Matter & Poetry

Art has always been an important part of all cultures and in its electrifying ability of connecting people it transforms itself into a mode of protest. Throughout history, art in the form of protest has been able to reach across communities, opening the door for emotion and empathy while offering space and power to those who need it to educate, think, dream, and/or dismantle. In the United States where we’re actively engaged in an extremely necessary Black Lives Matter movement I felt it appropriate to share the words of other BIPOC poets in order to give my audience an awareness and understanding of our voices.

Today, my fiance and I turned on the camera to read some of the poems featured in issue 44.1 of Obsidian: Literature & Arts in the African Diaspora. While we read, consider that these poems were published in 2018. This is to say that the writers may have been working on these pieces long before 2018 yet they unfortunately ring just as true today (6/7/20) as they did in the 60’s, 90’s, and whoever reads blog in the future. It’s important to note that BIPOC folx are in a constant state of hyper-awareness and fight (whether overt or covert) because of our sociopolitical, ethnopolitical, and geopolitical  “differences” that are systematically placed on us. It is super important to stand with and question systems rather than questioning us in regards to our passion and pursuit for witness, reparations, and equality. 

Furthermore, for those still questioning the passion of a community– let alone a mother– after losing  black son or daughter, the readings from the video will speak for themselves.