One of my incarcerated companions wrote me and included a picture of himself with his ‘old earth’. I sat confused looking for the meaning while starting at the photo of him and his mother, I’d never heard the phrase before. After a few moments, it finally hit me, the womb of our mother is where […]
What my BSU gave me at my PWI: Five Essential C’s Attending the University of Washington, a predominantly white institution (PWI) can be a draining experience, especially socially which can affect us academically, emotionally and even physically. I’d always dreamed of graduating high school and going to Spelman College, but my father (footing the bill […]
Being revolutionary and spiritually aware are not mutually exclusive. I’ve had people ask me how I could be a revolutionary while also practicing Christianity, the “white mans” religion. In response, t I want to address the idea that Christianity is a “white man’s” religion because it is not. The Bible was not written by white […]
God Gave Us Go(o)d Hair: So that we may understand and be aware After wearing a beautiful set of Nubian twists for two months I sat down around 2pm on a sunny Tuesday afternoon to finally take down the protective style. While taking down the twists in sections I slathered deep conditioner over my strands […]
Are you celebrating June 19th or July 4th? It completely depends on your definition of “free” July 4, 1776 not only was I not considered a citizen, I wasn’t considered human. My people were property to be bought and sold while those who were considered citizens celebrated their independence from their captive in England. Their […]
The underground secluded town With a lack of sunlit windows Give you away You can never trick me With the fancy vocabulary and complex wordplay Although they guard and demean Those uniformed people with the rings of keys Sure I’ll call them “staff” Because I guess they are employees The 4 sided cell With the […]
When I first saw the listing for a poetry mentor in the King County Juvenile Detention Center it was on my university’s career newsletter. I was working on campus as a Conference Assistant at the time and while sitting at the community center’s front desk I thought the volunteer opportunity was a dream come true. […]
I can safely say that this mixer is one of my favorite Black owned business events in the Seattle area, the Black Arts Love Mixer hosted at Franklin High School. When I arrived at the mixer I walked into a performance by J-dash, a rapper from Seattle. Along with him there were other live music […]
This past weekend, Saturday March 4, 2017, the Black Liberation Front hosted a Black Lives Matter March for Freedom through Seattle. Protesters chanted, “Keep the CD Black” and “Hey Hey Ho Ho, Gentrifying has got to go”. There was a strong police presence at the demonstration, officers biked along side and blocked off streets in […]
Jordan Peele’s thriller film, Get Out, is number one in the box office and has earned over $30 million during its opening weekend. Audiences are curious to see Peele’s non-comedic perspective on racism completely outside of what we’re used to seeing in his skits from MADtv to his own show, Key & Peele. I must […]