#we move on to langston hughes

[ominouspositivity-or-else]

done with it!!! it just needs to be edited!!! :DDD

i want a good grade so im writing a paper SPECIFICALLY aimed at a professor and what he will enjoy seeing.

[whencartoonsruletheworld]

Hey so like many of you, I saw that article about how people are going into college having read no classic books. And believe it or not, I've been pissed about this for years. Like the article revealed, a good chunk of American Schools don't require students to actually read books, rather they just give them an excerpt and tell them how to feel about it. Which is bullshit.

So like. As a positivity post, let's use this time to recommend actually good classic books that you've actually enjoyed reading! I know that Dracula Daily and Epic the Musical have wonderfully tricked y'all into reading Dracula and The Odyssey, and I've seen a resurgence of Picture of Dorian Gray readership out of spite for N-tflix, so let's keep the ball rolling!

My absolute favorite books of all time are The Haunting of Hill House and We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson. Classic psychological horror books about unhinged women.

I adore The Bad Seed by William March. It's widely considered to be the first "creepy child" book in American literature, so reading it now you're like "wow that's kinda cliche- oh my god this is what started it. This was ground zero."

I remember the feelings of validation I got when people realized Dracula wasn't actually a love story. For further feelings of validation, please read Frankenstein by Mary Shelley and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson. There's a lot the more popular adaptations missed out on.

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier is an absolute gem of a book. It's a slow-build psychological study so it may not be for everyone, but damn do the plot twists hit. It's a really good book to go into blind, but I will say that its handling of abuse victims is actually insanely good for the time period it was written in.

Moving on from horror, you know people who say "I loved this book so much I couldn't put it down"? That was me as a kid reading A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Picked it up while bored at the library and was glued to it until I finished it.

Peter Pan and Wendy by JM Barrie was also a childhood favorite of mine. Next time someone bitches about Woke Casting, tell them that the original 1911 Peter Pan novel had canon nonbinary fairies.

Watership Down by Richard Adams is my sister Cori's favorite book period. If you were a Warrior Cats, Guardians of Ga'Hoole or Wings of Fire kid, you owe a metric fuckton to Watership Down and its "little animals on a big adventure" setup.

A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry was a play and not a book first, but damn if it isn't a good fucking read. It was also named after a Langston Hughes poem, who's also an absolutely incredible author.

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury is a book I absolutely adore and will defend until the day I die. It's so friggin good, y'all, I love it more than anything. You like people breaking out of fascist brainwashing? You like reading and value knowledge? You wanna see a guy basically predict the future of television back in 1953? Read Fahrenheit.

Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain and To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee are considered required reading for a reason: they're both really good books about young white children unlearning the racial biases of their time. Huck Finn specifically has the main character being told that he will go to hell if he frees a slave, and deciding eternal damnation would be worth it.

As a sidenote, another Mark Twain book I was obsessed with as a kid was A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. Exactly what it says on the tin, incredibly insane read.

If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin is a heartbreaking but powerful book and a look at the racism of the time while still centering the love the two black protagonists feel for each other. Giovanni's Room by the same author is one that focuses on a MLM man struggling with his sexuality, and it's really important to see from the perspective of a queer man living in the 50s– as well as Baldwin's autobiographical novel, Go Tell it on the Mountain.

Agatha Christie mysteries are all still absolutely iconic, but Murder on the Orient Express is such a good read whether or not you know the end twist.

Maybe-controversial-maybe-not take: Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov is a good book if you have reading comprehension. No, you're not supposed to like the main character. He pretty much spells that out for you at the end ffs.

Animal Farm by George Orwell was another favorite of mine; it was written as an obvious metaphor for the rise of fascism in Russia at the time and boy does it hit even now.

And finally, please read Shakespeare plays. As soon as you get used to their way of talking, they're not as hard to understand as people will lead you to believe. My absolute favorite is Twelfth Night- crossdressing, bisexual love triangles, yellow stockings... it's all a joy.

and those are just the ones i thought of off the top of my head! What're your guys' favorite classic books? Let's make everyone a reading list!

[makingqueerhistory]

I know you used to have a book wishlist, where did that go?

Yes I did, it was gently retired, though we had some very generous people who sent me books (THANK YOU <3 I continue to be shocked and warmed by this community's generosity) I found that I am much more of an audiobook person. I have trouble keeping information in my mind if I am reading it physically. That being said, I have also begun requesting books from my local library, which has been a massive resource that has assisted me more than I could have imagined before I started using it.

That being said, there are some books that I wish I had access to still, just because they don't have audiobooks. Currently my list is made up of:

Feeling Backward: Loss and the Politics of Queer History by Heather Love: "Feeling Backward" makes an effort to value aspects of historical gay experience that now threaten to disappear, branded as embarrassing evidence of the bad old days before Stonewall. It looks at early-twentieth-century queer novels often dismissed as "too depressing" and asks how we might value and reclaim the dark feelings that they represent. Heather Love argues that instead of moving on, we need to look backward and consider how this history continues to affect us in the present.

Prairie Fairies: A History of Queer Communities and People in Western Canada, 1930-1985 by Valerie Korinek: Prairie Fairies draws upon a wealth of oral, archival, and cultural histories to recover the experiences of queer urban and rural people in the prairies. Focusing on five major urban centres, Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Regina, Edmonton, and Calgary, Prairie Fairies explores the regional experiences and activism of queer men and women by looking at the community centres, newsletters, magazines, and organizations that they created from 1930 to 1985.　

Racism and the Making of Gay Rights: A Sexologist, His Student, and the Empire of Queer Love by Laurie Marhoefer: Racism and the Making of Gay Rights shows how Hirschfeld laid the groundwork for modern gay rights, and how he did so by borrowing from a disturbing set of racist, imperial, and eugenic ideas. Yet on his journey with Li, Hirschfeld also had inspiring moments - including when he formulated gay rights as a broad, anti-colonial struggle and as a movement that could be linked to Jewish emancipation. Following Hirschfeld and Li in their travels through the American, Dutch, and British empires, from Manila to Tel Aviv to having tea with Langston Hughes in New York City, and then into exile in Hitler's Europe, Laurie Marhoefer provides a vivid portrait of queer lives in the 1930s and of the turbulent, often-forgotten first chapter of gay rights.

If you wanted to fund my ability to get my queer hands on these books, here is the link:

[gwydionmisha]

Advice to the Able-Bodied Poet Entering the Disability Poetics Workshop -  Liv Mammone

For Jennifer Bartlett and Shira Erlichman

1. Let's just save time—Yes I have seen Rain Man, The Miracle Worker, My Left Foot, or, more recently, The Theory of Everything. I wanna fuck Daniel Day Lewis too but can we not? 2. If all the the Special Needs Kids everybody's mom/cousin/friend/friend's mom/cousin's friend's mom has ever worked with got together, they could overthrow the government and we'd see some real change. Those people aren't reference points for me. There are no reference points for me. 3. This isn't the Whose Life Sucks More game. You have seen moments I can never imagine. 4. When asking about my disability, please remember you have Siri. What you really need to know will come up in the poems. 5. Similarly, if you decide you need to ask my diagnosis, I can guarantee those ugly sounding words are all I have in common with whoever you know. If you don't know anyone, asking me what does that mean isn't ingratiating. I'm not a painting by Warhol. Asterisk: if you're just meeting me and that's your opening? That, or so what happened to you—you're suspect. I have a favorite band, a gaggle of furry children. Let's start there. 6. The words disability, disorder, and disease aren't synonymous. 7. And while we're at it, let's talk about language. You're here for that above all right? Me too. But I get to decide how it's done, not you. If I say cripple, it's because I like how the consonants break like bones. I'm not handing you a membership card. If I say call me "special needs" and I'll roll over your foot, it doesn't mean that softness won't comfort others. Political correctness is kind of like using correct pronouns. So many words have been made up and thrown onto my flesh. None were my name. 8. If you didn't get the above reference to pronouns, I'll write a separate piece for you. 9. Your ear will need to curve around the rhythm of speech. Your pace will hunger to leave me limping. You will want to catch me as I lurch forward; lead me by elbow or hand; not to repeat yourself; to talk as fast as you do out there. Slow down. Slow everything down. 10. The phrase but you don't look sick can go fuck itself with a moving train covered in chainsaws. 11. Don't use the word inspiration unless you're talking about Whitman, Langston Hughes, John Keats or Jesus. 12. Matter of fact, leave Jesus out of it altogether; he's busy enough. 13. It isn't a wheelchair; it's a fully automated battle station. It isn't a cane; it's a dowsing rod. It isn't a limp; it's a swagger. It isn't a stim—it's how my fabulous self is pulling magic out of the air. 14. I'm not your metaphor. Phantom limbs, deafness, or blindness as figurative language in your poems will result in my unhinging my fucking jaw. 15. If you find yourself saying something that begins with no offense, but I want you to stop. Take a breath. And say to yourself these three sentences: Does this need to be said? Does this need to be said right now? Does this need to be said right now by me? If the answer to any of those is no, return to start do not collect $200. 16. Laugh. 17. Be honest. 18. Your head had best be a microscope. Ask yourself why you're here. But question my motives, too. Slam your hand hard on my buttons. 19. Some kind of dragon needed slaying to get to this room, whether it be the nasty bus driver or the thoughts of suicide. So somebody's probably gonna show up in pajamas, crocks, mismatched socks, un showered, hair falling loose from ponytail—whatever. Either they're embarrassed or don't give a fuck. Either way, they don't need you mentioning it. 20. Speak for me, not over me. 21. Yes, I can have sex. I hope everybody in here writes a jam so graphic it makes your goosebumps mambo just so you never ask a disabled person that ever again, unless you're offering. 22. I don't think shy people become poets, but in case you are, you best chill if you fear the body. If I'm gonna write a colostomy bag free verse or a pantoum about how hard it is to negotiate my period on crutches, I wanna do it in peace. 23. You need Advil? Guaranteed, somebody got you. 24. If I have to leave the room while you're reading, sorry in advance. 25. Let me point out, Tiny Tim has been fucking me over since 1843. If I'm happy, it's taken for a miracle; if I'm not, I remind them of all they have and all the work they have to do. I could be a big smile, a raised fist, an eye glittered with tears. 26. This is the place I come to sharpen my teeth; to weep until I am the Danube. I don't care if you're frightened. 27. Trigger warnings. That is all. 28. Halle Berry, Harriet Tubman, Orlando Bloom, Clinton, Christie, Darwin. A lot of your faves are disabled. Just like a lot of your faves are actually bisexual. (More breaking news at 11.) 29. And while we're on that, being disabled doesn't mean you've checked off your minority box on the form. Just saying. 30. I don't want to talk about me; how's my stanza structure? 31. Intersectionality isn't a buzzword. 32. I will ask if I need your help. Repeat this a billion times. 33. Related note: you wouldn't grab someone on the subway. You'd let your face smash into the pole before steadying yourself on the person next to you. So why in the name of God's teeth would you touch me or whatever apparatus I may have without asking?! 34. Remember, you're one slip in the shower, doctor's visit, missed turn away from being me. 35. If I fall, the way you gasp hurts worse than impact. 36. I'm not blaming you. I'm saying pay attention. 37. Inevitably, someone will be forced to stop coming. Email them; that'd be cool. 38. Even if you pity me, don't mess around when it comes to editing. 39. Your body is so damn fucking beautiful. It's like nothing else. 40. Please remember that compliance with any or all of the aforementioned will not result in praise of any kind, cookies, medals, or otherwise. Thank you. 41. People are like poems. They don't get finished, they just stop.

[tani-b-art]

Maxine’s Baby: The Tyler Perry Story

Perry’s legacy in film, in Black American culture is imprinted. Generationally. What he’s done in the industry is groundbreaking. His non-traditional approach and method to all he’s accomplished is a testament to what we’ve always done as Black Americans when it comes to everything — having a seat at our own table we built. He broke the mold and shattered the glass ceiling. He truly has the Black American, ancestral lineage of perseverance running through his blood!

I also learned so much more about him and his relationship with his mother and his mother in general that I hadn’t known. Also, parts of him speaking about his mother connected a lot of why he has certain perspectives on life and relationships. The Black women in his life (his mother and aunt who is hero-like in my opinion for the type of action of love) truly played the biggest roles in his shaping as a young boy to becoming a man. We got an inside view of his mind and the journey of him becoming who he is.

Seeing the enormity of his success just is positively moving and stirring. I found myself super proud with the scenes of the grand opening of his ultimate studio! Those parts of the docu had me feeling like I could conquer anything. All of the studio grand opening touched my heart and made me smile tears of joy in the simple fact that he is the embodiment of our ancestors’ love, hope and courage. He built on what they started and I can feel them saying, “Well done.”

It’s moving and emotionally charging.

He also allowed us into the parts of his life as a father to his son. You can tell all that he does and is doing is to be able to give out the love he wished he could’ve gotten from the father-figure now, in life. His relationship with his son is so beautiful.

The intimate portrait, bio styled documentary was a great watch. I definitely recommend.

Now….I must speak on the issues that I took with aspects of his footprint on the landscape of film.

Perry loses me when he says things like, “…what we’ve done to each other as Black people who are successful…”. He referenced the boycotting Amos ‘N’ Andy had received in its time along with Alice Walker’s The Color Purple. Amos ‘N’ Andy’s controversy: this show (was a TV adaptation of the radio sitcom of two white men who “adopted stereotypical dialect, intonations, and character traits that had been established in the blackface minstrel tradition in the 1800s”) came out in the midst of the Jim Crow era. An era we all know served to present imagery of Black Americans in racist propaganda replete with racist stereotypes and tropes. And the actors weren’t white men in blackface but actual Black men in these roles. Which is also the similar criticisms Perry’s Madea character receives.

The two shouldn’t be paralleled. Amos ‘N’ Andy was clearly stereotypical mockery (and no condemning the actors at the time) while Walker’s book is “inspired, in part, by a story that Walker's sister told her, about a love triangle involving their grandfather.” It is an account of real life experiences—a real depiction of what Black people, specifically Black women, were going through in the early 1900s in the Deep South. On the heels of freedom (this is post American slavery with the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation) yet still facing the aftershocks of “ending” slavery (racism has never ended), Black women still faced slave-like treatment from former plantation & slave owners and now sexism & patriarchal treatment from their partners (I say now not in a sense of this being completely new). All while gaining more freedom in their outspokenness for the domestic plights they faced with their significant others and demanding equal rights.

Walker’s book and the following film adaptation received backlash on account of the increasing fracture between Black women and Black men in a post “free” society.

Perry also mentioned the not so pleasant views Langston Hughes had with Zora Neale Hurston and her usage of the Black Southern dialect in her writings. That too is incomparable because again, she conveyed real life. These were not caricatures she fictionalized for comic relief.

(please leave Alice Walker and Zora Neale Hurston’s works alone in correlation to yours)

Or in an appearance from Killer Mike (in Perry’s documentary) alluding to the fact that other groups of people don’t take issue with the negative depictions of their people in film.

One — yes they have and do. Has he spoken to any other ethnic group to ask?

Two — yes, your core demographic, who is Black, will have the most dialogue regarding your work. Who else would? White people? No, because you don’t make art for them. Your work is rooted through the lens of Black Americans. Of course the biggest critique will come from us.

We have a very different relationship with our own country and the world at large. Centuries of ridicule in minstrel shows with not Black (because yes, it wasn’t only white people performing in blackface to mock us) people donning blackface or in film with dangerous propaganda that single-handedly created a racist, terrorist group (k k k). We are still dealing with the aftermath of these harmful depictions and are in constant corrective mode. It’s a continual action.

He spoke about intention as well. And while I don’t believe Perry’s intention of the Madea character (or any of his characters in his films, shows or plays—that’s a different conversation…among other talking points surrounding him can be discussed in an entirely separate talk) was to be problematic it is very damaging to the representation of Black American women — two things can exist. Especially considering all the negative portrayals and images of us over the many, many, many years in all forms of media that the character fits into (again no condemnation on any of the actresses at the time).

But with everything I’ve said, Madea will just always have a kindred connection with me.

I was first introduced to Tyler Perry years ago from a cousin who lent me a VHS of both “Madea’s Family Reunion: The Play” and “Diary of a Mad Black Woman: The Play”. And when Madea came across my screen in that loud shiny red funeral squirt suit, there was an instant likability! I laughed more than I had from anything scripted — in fact, his plays were the first time I had ever watched a stage play. And from then, I have always had a special place in my heart for his plays and for Madea! I purchased 6 DVDs of his plays afterwards and the “Diary” film while I was in my freshman year in college and those plays got me through my first year.

I am glad he’s since retired the character and opened a new chapter of the work he’s putting out but I can acknowledge that Madea and the work pre-Madea’s retirement has been and is a source of joy for me.

And I think that’s what Tyler wants to do with all that he does.

Bring us joy.

[volvincer]

A Raisin In The Sun by Lorraine Hansberry

This play is considered revolutionary for its time; being the first drama by an African American woman to be produced on Broadway. Within the text, Hansberry crafts dialogue for the main characters by incorporating AAVE (African American Vernacular English) which flouted the expectations of plays being written in Standard English. The play was named 'A Raisin in the Sun', which was taken from lines of the poem 'Harlem' by Langston Hughes; a poem that addresses the lost American Dreams that many African Americans once had and how they are deprived of ever achieving their goals. A.R.I.T.S was truly a piece of incredible literary fiction in which I urge everyone to read.

A Raisin in the Sun is a play written by Lorraine Hansberry, an African American playwright in the 1950s. The play is set in America, specifically in Chicago during the 50s. The location is extremely necessary to understand the context as well as the plot of the play. It is a mirror to the writer, Lorraine Hansberry's own life; just like in the play, she also experienced her neighbourhood being seized under the oppressive redlining and the segregation between Black and White Americans. The play was both an acknowledgement of the social and economic deprivation that African Americans faced, as well as juggling the main theme of the American Dream between each member of the Younger family.

From initial review, being that it is a play, it was quite quick to read. I had also watched the movie after finishing the play, which starred Danny Glover who played as Walter Younger. We readers view the life of the Younger family, who are hard working and all have their own dreams to pursue. In reality, to pursue the American Dream is often thought of as following a lonely path. All of the Younger's were reaching for their own ideal, the divide in the family caused the relationships to fall apart. The Younger household had faced such desperation and discontent with their current lives that each member had their American dream relying on a single insurance check.

In the end after a big conflict, they came together as a family as they realised that they are stronger as one..it is a very heart warming and emotionally moving story…the topics of racism, religion, gender, culture assimilation and classism were very strong throughout the text. Even if you have not done research behind the context of the play, you will still be able to easily find these main themes in the text. There is an idea of hope and change that is symbolised within a plant which goes through many changes throughout the play; it is looked after by Lena, it is the heart of the family. Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun is truly a beautiful play that emphasises the importance of family, and how our own plant will be more supported if our roots are closer together.

For ones who are not so interested in reading, I highly recommend viewing the film/TV version (1989), which stars actors such as Danny Glover as Walter Lee Younger and Esther Rolle as Mama (Lena) Younger. During this movie, I felt as though the characters I had grown fond of in the raw text had come to life in this adaption, I hope that you too will find the acting just as heart-touching.

Link: A Raisin In The Sun (1989) full movie Link: Harlem by Langston Hughes

(1951) HARLEM

BY LANGSTON HUGHES

What happens to a dream deferred?

      Does it dry up

      like a raisin in the sun?

      Or fester like a sore—

      And then run?

      Does it stink like rotten meat?

      Or crust and sugar over—

      like a syrupy sweet?

      Maybe it just sags

      like a heavy load.

Or does it explode?

[imnothinginparticular]

#finishedbooks A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry. Picked this up at the free book store in Baltimore. Recall watching the 1961 film with my grandfather and later at school that had that original Broadway cast from the play that included Sydney Poitier and Ruby Dee. It is my favorite adaptation although the 1989 PBS version with Danny Glover is just as good that even including left out sections in the 1961 film. The most notable section was of the sister going natural with her hair which predated the "black is beautiful" movement that popularized the idea later in that decade going into the 70s. With a running time of nearly 3 hours, I guess they weren't easy editing decisions. But for those uninitiated the story tells of a family's attempt to improve their existence with a pending insurance check payout. Featuring well rounded complex characters, each has their own dream and in dealing with housing discrimination, assimilation and racism...struggle to stay together. The title comes from a Langston Hughes poem, "What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?" It was the first play to be written and produced on Broadway by an African American woman as well to feature a black director. Unfortunately, she died just 6 years later at age 34 making for one of the bigger "what if's" in our history as she had a lot to say. Her family challenged restrictive housing covenant in a famous Supreme Court case and I was always impressed with what Baldwin recalled in her telling the president off in a private meeting on civil rights. He recalled her as the strongest person in the room among men and in addition as a lesbian she spoke out for gay rights as well.The play stands the test of time for better or worse as the same problems exist and found Amiri Baraka's reevaluation of the play to exemplify this, "We missed the essence of the work - that Hansberry had created a family on the cutting edge of the same class and ideological struggles as existed in the movement itself and among the people...The Younger family is part of the black majority and the concerns I once dismissed as 'middle class'- buying a home and moving into 'white folks' neighborhood's - are actually reflective of the essence if black people's striving and the will to defeat segregation, discrimination, and national oppression. There is no such thing as a 'white folks' neighborhood except to racists and to those submitting to racism."

[womynson]

Nurture Versus Nature

Only love is real. And we sure get a taste of that from Bell Hooks. In her essay, “Love as the Practice of Freedom,” Hooks asserts that a strong love ethic will expand our capacity for care and expand our concerns for the oppressed to create order in the United States of America. Hooks supports her assertion by developing a claim supported by historical evidence and addressing the voices of visionary black leaders. Her purpose is to generate a growing consciousness, so we may succeed in achieving an elevated global frequency in fields from politics to ethics and everything in between.  Hooks writes in a strong formal tone for a progressively open-minded audience.

With much of her younger years spent performing famous poetic works from Gwendolyn Brooks, Langston Hughes, and Elizabeth Barrett Browning–Hooks took to studying–earning a BA from Stanford University, an MA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a PhD from the University of California-Santa Cruz. Bell Hooks had written just over 30 books in dedication to her life-long journey exposing racism as an internalized suffrage; a support system aimed to create better systemic habits of human behavior. As she once put it: “to think of certain ways of writing as activism is crucial. What does it matter if we write eloquently about decolonization if it’s just white privileged kids reading our eloquent theory about it? Masses of black people suffer from internalized racism, our intellectual work will never impact on their lives if we do not move it out of the academy. That’s why I think mass media is so important” (Poetry Foundation, par. 3). Consequently, her work still carries through years after her death at the age of 69 in 2021 through the books she has written to leave an everlasting impression on young Black and colored philosophers, writers, and literary artists; And of all the accomplishments to have achieved it seems to have been such a privilege “to be named one of our nation’s leading public intellectuals” (Poetry Foundation, par. 4) by the Atlantic. Surely as something so noble of a cause love is, Hooks had to have had plenty for her students and acolytes. My hopes for Bell Hooks are that she holds an immense quality of credibility in the life she became such an addition to, even in her afterlife.

While it is safe to say the United States of America is in quite a transcendental space for progressive movements such as Black Lives Matter to take up space; it has never been easier to reach across communities for support–and away from pain. Well before a rough period of transition out of segregation, “the absence of public spaces where that pain could be articulated, expressed, shared meant that it was held in—festering, suppressing the possibility that this collective grief would be reconciled in community even as ways to move beyond it and continue resistance struggle would be envisioned” (Hooks, par. 6). For some time, the nation would all know this pain and grief all too well. Gratefully, there was one among the many strong black voices we would soon come to remember who had left as a legacy, Martin Luther King, Jr. What King, Jr. knew when he spoke over the crowds, was love–despite the opposing voices harboring ill will against him. That there was success beyond internalized war and above all, “King believed that love is "ultimately the only answer" to the problems facing this nation and the entire planet” (Hooks, par. 9). The key to this success was founded in the choice to love.

Love is arguably the only real concept describing someone who is purely aligned with the soul. On the contrary, acts of evil committed by individuals who plague our planet with materialism are described as soulless. To better examine love, Bell Hooks introduces one Thomas Merton who argues that, “this concept of love assumes that the machinery of buying and selling of needs is what makes everything run. It regards life as a market and love as a variation on free enterprise" (Hooks, par. 8). As a result, emotional connection is lost in the human by the valorizing materialistic natures that be. We can understand historically those who have lived through the civil rights movement “had the power to transform society because the individuals who struggle alone and in community for freedom and justice wanted these gifts to be for all, not just the suffering and the oppressed” (Hooks, par. 15). Visionary black leaders of this “New Age” saw that justice would serve the community, rightfully. Perhaps, it rings true we really do accept the love we think we deserve.

It is at the core of our experience where we witness our own choice in how we relate to and empathize with our own circumstances as emotional beings. Bell Hooks, a feminist theorist who speaks on contemporary issues of race, gender, and media representation in America, presents a compelling and moving argument that addresses a collective effort living moment to moment out of necessity to make this happen. Hooks in her essay “Love as the Practice of Freedom” asserts that a strong love ethic will expand our capacity for such empathy and in doing so resolve our concerns for the oppressed to create national order. She shares that, “often not knowing how to love or even what love is, many people feel emotionally lost; others search for definitions, for ways to sustain a love ethic in a culture that negates human value and valorizes materialism” (Hooks, par. 5). Finding common values and understanding individual ethical parameters can be a great start to this kind of inner work. As such, "Working within community, whether it be sharing a project with another person, or with a larger group, we are able to experience joy in struggle” (Hooks, par. 15). We can also further explore these ideas in our own perception by reviewing historical evidence and readdressing the voices of visionary Black leaders.

Love knows no bounds as it reaches across the technology we use every day, batteries included. Keep in mind the largest marketing segment is mobile gaming with up to 2.5 billion gamers online in the world; And as a credible source of news in technology, Quartz notes: “that 57% of video game players in the U.S. between the ages of 6 and 29 will be people of color in less than 10 years” (Confronting Racial Bias in Video Games, par. 3). Escaping–even for just a moment–into the world of fantasy then has never felt more exclusive for black and colored players as their underrepresentation devalues sense of self to these gamers. I can only begin to imagine how the lack of choice in skin color and hair styles can bring about racism as the majority of gaming platforms here face risk of losing business due to opportunistic cyberbullying. To go as far as to say where even standing up to racist jokes and slurs becomes problematic, a solution presents itself in which gamers should be given the choice to report complaints of racist behavior against another user to practice love as freedom. One professor at the University of Illinois–Chicago, Kishonna Gray, explains,” Many games have added the ability to mark a complaint as being due to gender discrimination, she notes, but the lack of a similar option for racism permits game studios to remain ignorant about how often racism occurs on their platform” (Confronting Racial Bias in Video Games, par. 21). Therein lies reason of which the responsibility unto gaming executives must carry conversation matters on the diversity of female gamers and Black and Latinx founders with an empathetic demeanor.

For something so seemingly simple as purchasing foods representing cultures of colorful backgrounds, racial imagery can also pose a danger in the contribution of ongoing racism. Long since the global uprising of George Floyd’s murder that sparked the Black Lives Matter movement there have been numerous accounts of which the official announcements our favorite packaged foods would replace outdated and stereotypically profiled images such as Aunt Jemima, Uncle Ben, even the Land O’Lakes very own Native American Mia the “butter maiden” to set right the harm that has been done. The Pearl Milling Company, formerly known as Quaker Oats–and subsidiary of Aunt Jemima–states that: “The journey for racial equality is one that calls for big, structural changes, and ... we have the resources, reach, and responsibility to our people, businesses, and communities to be agents of progress” (Nittle, par. 7). With such progress underway within an ongoing social revolution, The Pearl Milling company didn’t just stop at rebranding. They granted $1 million to nonprofits empowering Black women and young girls; then in 2020 had announced a generous “$400 million five-year commitment to uplift Black businesses and communities” (Nittle, par. 6). Following for rebrand, Ben’s Original’s Denis Yarotskiy, the regional president for Mars Food North America, told Civil Eats: “While never our intent, the picture of the man on the Uncle Ben’s packaging elicits images of servitude for some, and, in the U.S., the word ‘uncle’ was at times a pejorative title for Black men” (Nittle, par. 5). So, however cautiously optimistic surrounding the powerful impact rebranding and financially pledged have had on these companies–to think, it all started with Land O’Lakes as they clued in before the BLM with whatever little right having used a Native American woman “butter maiden” image in the first place. A plot twist if ever there was.

In retrospect of conversation surrounding “Love as the Practice of Freedom,” we can gather Bell Hooks has demonstrated her cause for always pushing to eradicate racism by elevating the planet’s frequency using the love ethic. By examining the nuances of internalized racism between consumerism in the colored gaming community and packaged food branding there lies consistency in working to disassemble racial profiling, or racial bias. Through a solutions-based mentality operating through the destruction from outdated treatment of the Black and Latinx communities voicing truth in support of love never seemed more possible. Hooks supports her demonstration of a just cause by reviewing historical evidence to amplify voices from Black visionaries and leaders. She then continued this work by participating in her underserved communities via love and dedication. And because of the warm imprint Hooks has left in our hearts, the greater goal to reach global awareness on the matter is practical. It certainly leaves you wondering about the potential of human creation.

Works Cited

“Bell Hooks.” Poetry Foundation, Poetry Foundation, www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/bell-hooks. Accessed 8 Aug. 2024.

Cohen-Peckham, Eric. “Confronting Racial Bias in Video Games.” TechCrunch, 22 June 2020, techcrunch.com/2020/06/21/confronting-racial-bias-in-video-games/.

“Love as the Practice of Freedom,” uucsj.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/bell-hooks-Love-as-the-Practice-of-Freedom.pdf. Accessed 9 Aug. 2024.

Nittle, Nadra. “Exorcising Aunt Jemima.” Eater, 25 May 2021, www.eater.com/22450623/racist-brand-mascot-logo-changes-aunt-jemima-uncle-bens-land-o-lakes.

[alltheflair]

The Creative Side: Rafael Arturo Shabazz

Courtesy Photo: Rafael Arturo Shabazz

Rafael Arturo Shabazz, an Afro-Latino photographer, published author, poet, musician, and visual artist, has quite the portfolio.

“Less is more and after all there is beauty in simplicity when you think about the art of photography. My mission is to magnify the visions of my collaborators, my clients and create images that reflect everyday life and beyond,” Rafael said on the Instagram account for SKIN & BONE, his company.

Born and raised in Dorchester, Massachusetts, Shabazz grew up in low-income housing with his mom, who worked a part-time job for $9 an hour. His mom worked hard to maintain the household, but it was unstable, and domestic violence was present.

“I’ve gone through bullying most of my life. I’ve had a speech impediment growing up because my primary language was Spanish, but then I had to adapt to the Boston public school system and learn the English language.” Shabazz said. “In the process, I fell in love with literature as literature became a bridge to gap the alienation of where I come from and how I grew up. Falling in love with literature introduced me to poetry, and introduced me to Langston Hughes, so journaling became a safe haven for me whenever I felt too different or couldn’t fit in certain places, or I felt alone or I felt like I needed to express myself… I resorted to poetry.”

Fast forward to high school, Shabazz continued painting, but took on sewing and designing pieces. He still kept his love for poetry, and found himself listening to jazz and expanding his music taste. Out of high school, Shabazz packed up and moved to Paris and got his first full-time job cleaning floors in a hospital. He took his mom’s camcorder with him to Paris, just like how she brought it to the Dominican Republic to capture moments with her family.

“I figured out that me and my mom have the same mentality when it comes to recording history. You know, documenting history, documenting ourselves. Growing up, there’s a battle between me and my mom low-key because she doesn’t let me do what I wanna do. There's a similarity between us. That’s a relationship I reflected on. While she was building a life for us and the struggles sort of prohibited my freedom into the world, we shared a lot of similar interests. So my mom is someone who has been very influential in my life.” Shabazz said.

Q: How did you come up with the name SKIN & BONE? What does it mean to you?

A: I came up with the name SKIN & BONE because I wanted it to relate to just the basis of fashion photography. And that is a person right in front of the lens expressing themselves through their clothing. SKIN & BONE has always been about fashion. The root of how I started was with landscape photography and documenting the times. So, I still wanted to incorporate that and that rawness of capturing time is embedded within the metaphorical meaning of skin and bone. It’s just raw. SKIN & BONE on a more technical aspect, is like, yes, I’m capturing people, you know, I’m capturing different kinds of people in different ways. So, it’s pretty much I came up with this slogan “SKIN & BONE: Show us you, show us who you are”.

Q: How would you describe your style of photography?

A: My strength is portraiture work, that’s something that I’ve recognized, I think within the last few years or so. My strength is capturing faces, literally faces, anything above the chest. So, I would describe my work to be sort of intricate, and sort of intimate in a way, but also natural and colorful.

Q: What do you think makes a perfect photograph?

A: What makes a perfect photograph is understanding what camera you’re using. I think once you understand the mechanics behind the camera and you understand yourself because now you’re able to filter out, or filter down, what type of photograph you intend to capture. I mean it really all just depends on how much time you spend with your hobbies. A perfect photograph depends on repetitive practice.

Q: Within this year, or the next two or three years, what goals do you want to achieve?

A: I got some big goals in my life. I feel like this is a way of manifesting it. That’s why I was so excited to pop on because I’m manifesting this. My goal is to do a Vogue cover, and also to be on ID Magazine, and O32c Magazine as well. These are the magazines that I resonate with, my type of style, and once that’s said and done I’m retiring. I’m done with photography, I have nothing else to prove.

Q: Are there any photographers that inspire you, or that you admire?

A: Yes, yes, one of them is Tyler Mitchell. He inspires me a lot. Another one is Helmut Newton. Newton is the guy who photographed this really infamous editorial of Yves Saint Laurent. It’s this woman in a full suit trying to pursue this other woman, and Newton plays a lot with different aspects of sexualities and incorporating fashion into both of those worlds and merging them. Mitchell focuses more on distorting reality with his backdrops, and telling intimate stories about boyhood or girlhood stuff like that. I really like that.

Q: Is there anything else you want the people to know?

A: I believe that I’m one of the best photographers in Massachusetts. Period. I really feel like, you know, the amount of time I’ve spent learning my craft has really proven itself over time. Even in that aspect it’s distinguished itself amongst other photographers. I like that because that’s special to me, to stand out sometimes in the art world. That is something I wanted to get off my chest. Another thing is obviously if you love what you do and invest 100% into it, it’ll come right back to you. Something else I wanted to share is SKIN & BONE is not a magazine. It’s just photography, and I don’t want people to get it confused because of the branding now.

These past couple of months, Shabazz has made big waves to kick off the year. Back in February, he sat down with host Paul Willis at the Frugal Bookstore and discussed Shabazz’s journey and SKIN & BONE. And just earlier this month, Shabazz landed his first art gallery exhibition at the Urbanica Gallery in Roxbury, Massachusetts.

“This exhibition is dedicated to Dorchester, Roxbury, my friends, loved ones, and the art of repetition.” Shabazz said via the SKIN & BONE Instagram.

If you want to learn more about Shabazz, see more of his work, book a photoshoot or consultation, or buy his book, “I.S.A.A.C,” click here.

[amitapaul]

15/8

8/4/24

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#24GloPoWriMo

Prompt Dated : 2024 April 8

Response No : 1

Poem No: 15

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Prompt : Write a poem that centers around an encounter or relationship between two people (or things) that shouldn’t really have ever met – whether due to time, space, age, the differences in their nature, or for any other reason.

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Featured Poem :

Today, we have two featured participants: (1) Behind Door Number 3 and Orangepeel, where you’ll find very differnt, but compelling, takes on Day 7’s postcard prompt.

1

Behind Door No 3

Postcard, unwritten.

The sound of his laughter,

as slick as watermelon seeds,

tastes like the feeling of

bare feet running through

a sprinkler made rainbow

hovering above the thick

scent of a shaded, mown lawn.

There is a wicker porch chair

proposing a seamless, wide-angle

view of this scene; its empty

cushions missing the welcomed

weight of your presence, and

the posture of all the stories

you would have told.

2.

Orangepeel

Postcard to the Ex

There's a bear in the back yard

and piranhas in the kitchen sink.

The kids are dressing like clowns

and the bank took back the TV.

The car lost a wheel and a door.

Someone painted our windows black.

Your favorite chair caught fire,

and last night during the storm,

a huge tree limb crashed

through the bedroom ceiling

and onto your side of the bed.

Wish you were here.

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Poetry Resource :

Our featured resource today is this animated video of a talk given by the poet Jane Hirshfield on the art of the metaphor.

The Elephant in the Room, Still waters run deep.

Fog

The fog comes

on little cat feet.

It sits looking

over harbor and city

on silent haunches

and then moves on.

Carl Sandburg

****

Mother to Son

BY LANGSTON HUGHES

Well, son, I’ll tell you:

Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.

It’s had tacks in it,

And splinters,

And boards torn up,

And places with no carpet on the floor—

Bare.

But all the time

I’se been a-climbin’ on,

And reachin’ landin’s,

And turnin’ corners,

And sometimes goin’ in the dark

Where there ain’t been no light.

So boy, don’t you turn back.

Don’t you set down on the steps

’Cause you finds it’s kinder hard.

Don’t you fall now—

For I’se still goin’, honey,

I’se still climbin’,

And life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.

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Prompt : Today, we challenge you to write a poem that centers around an encounter or relationship between two people (or things) that shouldn’t really have ever met – whether due to time, space, age, the differences in their nature, or for any other reason.

Our ( optional) prompt for the day takes its inspiration from Laura Foley’s poem “Year End.”

Year End

I want to bury him

though I doubt it's appropriate

for a butterfly.

Perhaps I'll climb the icy hill,

trudge through woods and slippery snow,

to place him as close as I can to sky,

in the field he would have floated over,

on his way to Mexico,

if October hadn't been too cold for flight.

The orange-and-black-winged beauty

thrived, in his screened-in cage,

lit with purple happy lights,

and fed every day by hand,

his proboscis dipped in honey water,

until, on Christmas day,

he birthed three sacs of sperm,

a rare gift for me these days.

Finding no mate,

he folded his wings and died,

face pressed into the New Year's daisy

I gave him, as a human lover might.

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Poem Title : Lost in Sugga Falls

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We sat on the warm wet rocks of the graded gentle Sugga Falls

Named after the fabled Parrot of the legend of lovers

An Australian priest sang about in the unfamiliar language of the Munda tribe

With brushwood and ferns and mosses filling in the gaps

Left by the teak, sal, arjun, aasan, mahua, semal, palaash trees

For the sands of the Koel river and her husband explained

To the doctor couple from Delhi the healthcare needs

Of the local population. Trout leaped in the sunlit stream and I thought

One could not be closer to heaven, so I asked her

How long she would stay and she replied

“ I miss the bright lights and the malls.

I’m leaving next week. How soon do you think my husband’s deputation papers will come through ? “

Blind, blind, blind. And thus lost around us everyday.

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Poet : Amita Sarjit Ahluwalia

Poem 15/8th Day

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[literaryvein-reblogs]

Great addition! Also:

Although they sound similar, "would of" is incorrect. It is a misspelling of "would have". It doesn’t exist as grammatically correct phrase in English. Some people erroneously write would of instead of would have because that is how people pronounce the phrase in informal speech. When you contract would have to would’ve, it sounds similar to would of, so it’s an easy mistake to make.

Found this great article on the topic too:

"Of" is usually a preposition, but also may function as a verb, typically when used as a substitution for "have", as in ‘I could of written it correct, but wanted to see what you’d say if I didn’t.’

The reason for why of came to be used for have is that the latter word (and even more so its contracted form, seen in could’ve, should’ve, would’ve) is unstressed when spoken. There is very little phonetic difference between “I could’ve paid attention in English class” and “I could of paid attention in English class.” The spoken version of this is far more common than the written one, but there is considerable evidence of both.

This use, it should be noted, is widely shunned by usage guides, schoolteachers, people who send you annoying articles on social media about the declining state of education today, and well-nigh everyone else. So why do we define it? Because of that considerable evidence mentioned in the last paragraph.

A scouting report written by Captain Isaac Beall during the Revolutionary War contains a couple of our earlier instances of the word used in this fashion, illustrating that of, while not terribly common in writing at that time, has been with us for well over two hundred years now.

I was inform’d by a Capt’n of Molitia that about Two Hundred would be Imbodyed by Mondy Nite a plenty of Good Pilets are amongs them—if I could of been join’d by a party of the Molitia which I apply’d for I would of attacted the body that lay in the English Nabourhood, I had not a guid nor could Get non tell the Next day. —Isaac Beall, Letter to Adam Stephen, 20 Apr. 1777

The verb form of of begins to show up in print more often in the 19th century, generally when an author is attempting to replicate the speech of an uneducated person.

There lay the poor boy, dead enough: and all the doctors in Philadelphia couldn’t of been of no manner of service, so there warn’t any use in snivering and chafing. —Jabez Rankin, Spirit of the Times, 26 Dec. 1840 Now, old fellow, you might of heard that we like to have got into a war with the British about some boundary or other. —Portsmouth Journal of Literature and Politics, 5 Aug. 1843 The old man’s heart promptly quailed. He stood dumfounded and forgot Mandy and the other man’s wife in the face of his new foe. “If I’d of known it was you,” he said, “I wouldn’t of done it.” —The San Diego Union and Daily Bee, 3 Apr. 1893

The use appears to have been common enough that it was lampooned in an article in the late 19th century, along with questionable uses of the past tense of to do.

Possible past tense of verb done. Singular—I might, could, would or should of jest plumb done gone and done it. —The State (Columbia, SC), 16 Jul. 1893

There are many examples of prominent authors in the 20th century using forms such as could of, typically when rendered as dialogue.

I could of ended marrying the boy, and moving, and being killed, I think, as a punishment … I understand it. —David Mamet, A Scene-Australia (from No One Will Be Immune), 1994 Sure, I could of let you die, but I didn’t. Naw, I kept you with me—off and on. —Langston Hughes, Soul Gone Home (in The Collected Works of Langston Hughes: Vol. 5), 2002 I don’t know how you could of thought that when everybody knowed she’s been married—and she had a son. —James Baldwin, The Amen Corner, 1954 A lot of people cry. They could of heard it … anywhere. —Beth Henley, The Debutante Ball, 1991

The amount of written evidence produced over more than two centuries means that we are inclined to define a word, but it does not mean that we recommend that it be employed (unless, of course, it is for a desired effect).

commonly confused words

accept: to receive except: with the exclusion of

advice: recommendation (noun) advise: to recommend (verb)

adverse: unfavorable averse: opposed to

affect: to influence (verb); emotional response (noun) effect: result (noun); to cause (verb)

aisle: space between rows isle: island

allude: to make indirect reference to elude: to avoid

allusion: indirect reference illusion: false idea, misleading appearance

already: by this time all ready: fully prepared

altar: sacred platform or place alter: to change

altogether: thoroughly all together: everyone/everything in one place

a lot: a quantity; many of something allot: to divide or portion out

angel: supernatural being, good person angle: shape made by joining two straight lines

are: plural form of "to be" our: plural form of "my"

accent: pronunciation common to a region ascent: the act of rising or climbing assent: consent, agreement

assistance: help assistants: helpers

bare: nude, unadorned bear: to carry; an animal

beside: close to; next to besides: except for; in addition

boar: a wild male pig bore: to drill a hole through

board: piece of wood bored: uninterested

born: brought into life borne: past participle of "to bear" (carry)

breath: air taken in (noun) breathe: to take in air (verb)

brake: device for stopping break: destroy; make into pieces

buy: to purchase by: next to; through the agency of

canvas: heavy cloth canvass: to take a survey; a survey

capital: major city capitol: government building

choose: to pick chose: past tense of "to choose"

clothes: garments close: to shut; near cloths: pieces of fabric

coarse: rough course: path; series of lectures

complement: something that completes compliment: praise, flattery

conscience: sense of morality conscious: awake, aware

corps: regulated group corpse: dead body

council: governing body counsel: advice; to give advice

dairy: place where milk products are processed diary: personal journal

descent: downward movement dissent: disagreement

dessert: final, sweet course in a meal desert: to abandon; dry, sandy area

device: a plan; a tool or utensil devise: to create

discreet: modest, prudent behavior discrete: a separate thing, distinct

do: a verb indicating performance or execution of a task dew: water droplets condensed from air due: as a result of

dominant: commanding, controlling dominate: to control

die: to lose life; one of a pair of dice dye: to change or add color

dyeing: changing or adding color dying: losing life

elicit: to draw out illicit: illegal, forbidden

eminent: prominent imminent: about to happen

envelop: to surround (verb) envelope: container for a letter (noun)

everyday: routine, commonplace, ordinary (adj.) every day: each day, succession (adj. + noun)

fair: just, honest; a carnival; light skinned fare: money for transportation; food

farther: at a greater (measurable) distance further: in greater (non-measurable) depth

formally: conventionally, with ceremony formerly: previously

forth: forward fourth: number four in a list

gorilla: animal in ape family guerrilla: soldier specializing in surprise attacks

hear: to sense sound by ear here: in this place

heard: past tense of "to hear" herd: group of animals

hoard: a hidden fund or supply, a cache horde: a large group or crowd, swarm

hole: opening whole: complete; an entire thing

human: relating to the species homo sapiens humane: compassionate

its: possessive form of "it" it's: contraction for "it is"

knew: past tense of "know" new: fresh, not yet old

know: to comprehend no: negative

later: after a time latter: second one of two things

lead: heavy metal substance; to guide led: past tense of "to lead"

lessen: to decrease lesson: something learned and/or taught

lightning: storm-related electricity lightening: making lighter

loose: unbound, not tightly fastened lose: to misplace

maybe: perhaps (adv.) may be: might be (verb)

meat: animal flesh meet: to encounter mete: to measure; to distribute

medal: a flat disk stamped with a design meddle: to interfere, intrude metal: a hard organic substance mettle: courage, spirit, energy

miner: a worker in a mine minor: underage person (noun); less important (adj.)

moral: distinguishing right from wrong; lesson of a fable or story morale: attitude or outlook usually of a group

passed: past tense of "to pass" past: at a previous time

patience: putting up with annoyances patients: people under medical care

peace: absence of war piece: part of a whole; musical arrangement

peak: point, pinnacle, maximum peek: to peer through or look furtively pique: fit of resentment, feeling of wounded vanity

pedal: the foot lever of a bicycle or car petal: a flower segment peddle: to sell

personal: intimate; owned by a person personnel: employees

plain: simple, unadorned plane: to shave wood; aircraft (noun)

precede: to come before proceed: to continue

presence: attendance; being at hand presents: gifts

principal: foremost (adj.); administrator of a school (noun) principle: moral conviction, basic truth

quiet: silent, calm quite: very

rain: water drops falling; to fall like rain reign: to rule rein: strap to control an animal (noun); to guide or control (verb)

raise: to lift up raze: to tear down

rational: having reason or understanding rationale: principles of opinion, beliefs

respectfully: with respect respectively: in that order

reverend: title given to clergy; deserving respect reverent: worshipful

right: correct; opposite of left rite: ritual or ceremony write: to put words on paper

road: path rode: past tense of "to ride"

scene: place of an action; segment of a play seen: viewed; past participle of "to see"

sense: perception, understanding since: measurement of past time; because

sight: scene, view, picture site: place, location cite: to document or quote (verb)

stationary: standing still stationery: writing paper

straight: unbending strait: narrow or confining; a waterway

taught: past tense of "to teach" taut: tight

than: used to introduce second element; compared to then: at that time; next

their: possessive form of "they" there: in that place they’re: contraction for "they are"

through: finished; into and out of threw: past tense of "to throw" thorough: complete

to: toward too: also; very (used to show emphasis) two: number following one

track: course, road tract: pamphlet; plot of ground

waist: midsection of the body waste: discarded material; to squander

waive: forgo, renounce wave: flutter, move back and forth

weak: not strong week: seven days

weather: climatic condition whether: if wether: a neutered male sheep

where: in which place were: past tense of "to be"

which: one of a group witch: female sorcerer

whose: possessive for "of who" who’s: contraction for "who is"

your: possessive for "of you" you’re: contraction for "you are" yore: time long past

[maskedinstructor]

The Adventures of David Dashiki- Stories of an African America Hero... 2024- Year of the Black Man Aaaahhh! But What To Read ?

READING...

We have agreed that reading is our starting point. Then, here are some essential and brilliant authors that you must possess in your quiver as ammunition in the battle against illiteracy. Make no mistake, this is scholastic warfare. An ill-equipped reading warrior is only armed for his own demise. Secondly, on the battlefield, we must be able to fluently communicate. We must speak the same language. One cannot speak Swahili and the other, French. This type of preparation would only lead to disaster of major proportions.

Garvey is the primer. Other authors of significant fame and reputation that our young readers must master are: Arna Bontemps, Claude Brown, Ralph Ellison, Richard Wright, Alex Haley, Ta-Nehisi Coates, August Wilson, Malcolm X, Nelson Madela, W.E.B. DuBois, Calvin Baker, Junius Edwards, Yosef Ben-Jochannan, Harold Cruse, Maulana Karenga...

Female Authors: Alice Walker, Amanda Gorman, Toni Morrison, Chi Mammanda, Ngozi Adichie, Bell Hooks, Audre Lorde, Lorraine Hansberry, Terry McMillan, Ntozake Shange, Jesmyn Ward, Angela Davis, Ida B. Wells, Claudia Tate, Dorothy Koomson, Cheryl Clarke, Sioban Brooks, Elaine Brown, Ruby Bridges, Rosa Parks, Dorothy Porter...

Poetesses: Nikki Giovani, Maya Angelou, Phyllis Wheatley, Mari Evans...

Poets: Langston Hughes, Amiri Baraka, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Countee Cullen. Jean Toomer

We must read so that we can survive the myths. We live in a country in which myths about our character and industry have been propagated for centuries. History has not told our story with veracity and pride. We have been maligned. Therefore, we use the Year 2024 to read what WE have to say about US. If we do not read, we will succumb to the vicious lies spoken and written about us. Our children will never overcome in the current social environment. What is most important is that we read our story and focus on why is it important to omit the truth about what has happened and will continue to happen to us in America. This is a land of opportunity. It is our duty to reveal the truth. This can only be accomplished if we read, act, do, speak, question, create, develop, execute, move, pursue, respond, persevere, operate, persist, exert, represent, exploit,... Damn it! We must do something. The plan is that we read. Fill the knowledge gaps. Then act. The dormant days of life have ended. We are in the moment knowledge warriors.

Here are a few questions I advance: Why is it important that America omit our true history in our textbooks?

Why has America hidden the history, of our past, our successes and achievements from all who call themselves AMERICANS?

What has been taught are lies, propaganda and MYTHS.. America is a land of opportunity. We can right these wrongs. First , we must be armed with our own stories and triumphs. We must be READERS.

[rockatanskette]

Living in the USAmerican South is sad, but not (only) for the reasons you think. I had a meeting last week with a faculty member at a university with one of the only fully-funded creative writing MFAs in the country. A fully funded Master in Fine Arts program is funded entirely by the university: tuition, living expenses, with a stipend. They pay you to go to school there, in a country that charges upward of $120 grand for a three-year MFA. 600 people a year apply for the fewer than a dozen spots in this program.

When I asked what I could do to make myself stand out, he said, "The fact that you already live here may help." Because when people get accepted to this golden-ticket program, the politics of the South forces them elsewhere. And that breaks my fucking heart.

To be clear, I use the word "forces" incredibly intentionally. I fully understand how hostile Southern legislation and politics is to basically anyone who isn't a wealthy Christian cishet White man. I've lived here almost all my life as a queer Jewish person who can get pregnant—I've experienced a measure of that hostility firsthand.

But I've also experienced love and respect and compassion and community that goes undocumented because it's so damn ordinary. It's everywhere.

I think the community is the part that kills me, because minority groups in the South only get talked about on a national scale when we're the victims of crimes, which does a great disservice to the magnitude and depth of community in the South; the queer communities, the Black communities, the Jewish communities, the Muslim communities, the Latine and Indigenous and Desi and the list keeps on going. These demographics aren't outliers just because White supremacists say they are—they're the fucking fabric of the South. 56 percent of the Black population of the United States lives in the South; almost half the population of the state of Texas is Latine or Hispanic; Southern cities make up half the ten largest US populations of Indian-Americans, Pakistani-Americans, Irani-Americans, and honestly I could keep going. Do I even have to talk about Jews in Florida? I swear half of them go to my babushka's synagogue. Queer populations are historically harder to get a clear census of, but you bet your ass we're here too.

And, many of us are here on purpose, which is the part where I start turning my heartbreak into anger. Because do you know how fucking painful it is when you're venting about the evilest people on the planet making it basically illegal to live in the place you call home and your cousin from Jersey tells you to just move, already? I don't want to move. All my shit is here: my mountains and my swamps and my barbecue and my temple and the first girl I ever kissed and my favorite lesbian bar and my trans best friend and rodeos and biscuits and bourbon and blues and the random Yee Yee boy who followed me out of a bar in the rain at midnight the other night to tell a visibly queer me that I was driving with my trunk open and offered to close it so I didn't have to get out of my car. Which was terrifying until it became incredibly sweet.

Some of the best people I know live in the South. We are so much more and so much stronger than tokens and victims and if you think the South is populated entirely—or even mostly—by conservative White hicks, you're buying into a fascist racist queerphobic lie fueled by gerrymandering and the for-profit prison system. There are plenty of queer and liberal and leftist hicks of color down here, too, and we don't need the rest of the country siding with the Nazis in charge. Tell them to get out.

The faculty member I spoke to is an award-winning writer who has been compared to Langston Hughes, Etheridge Knight, and Gwendolyn Brooks. He grew up in a predominantly Black neighborhood in the North, then attended school in New England and the Pacific Northwest. He wasn't born in the South, but he lives here now.

I laughed when he said that living in the South might give me an advantage; partly at the irony, but partly because, "I'm not leaving the South until they make me. I learned that when I tried living in England for a year and spent the whole time wishing the US had free healthcare and trains. I love this place. I want to make it better."

He smiled a smile I've seen echoed in the faces of so many people who live their lives seeing raw beauty in a place dismissed as ugly and unsalvageable. It's tinged with sadness but born of joy.

"Yeah. I know exactly what you mean."

[rottenappleusach]

Honorary Mention:

“Chile, Where do we go now?” by Marina Vargas González

Have you ever found yourself wishing to bring something from the past to the present? Indeed, at a certain point, everybody has wanted to revive past events, things, or moments, but the question is whether this is worth it. Particularly, the poem Let America be America Again by the English writer Langston Hughes (1935) and my teaching motivation, made me reflect upon the past, present, and future of Chile.

In this retrospection, I remembered what my mother used to tell me about the past in Chile. Life, in general, was tough, especially for women who had fewer opportunities in every aspect of life. For instance, my mom always stresses the complexity of pursuing university studies. Furthermore, families in the past gave a prevalent role to the work of men only. When I hear my mother tell me these things, I feel glad not to have been part of that generation. I say this because today everybody has chances to study, men’s work and time is equally important as women’s, education is more inclusive and the spread and access to communication is faster. Now, as a future teacher and making the connection with a movie I recently watched by a Lebanese filmmaker, the question is what is next or ‘where do we go’ from here. From my point of view, there are three things that I yearn for in the future. 

More supportive families are the first element that I would like to see in future generations. Before moving on, it is important to note that the concept of family will be understood as a person or people who are responsible for and take care of another person. I claim this because as a pedagogy student I see the importance of the family in the students’ lives. A clear example of this is the saying that, in the past

I did not quite understand, states that education ‘comes from home’. If parents disrespect teachers at home, students will do the same in the classroom.

Consequently, acknowledging teachers’ work and supporting their pupils from home will make an important difference in the education of Chile.

I also yearn for a second element for our country: free education. Every single teacher or teacher-to-be is delighted to see how solid public education is in other countries such as Finland, Germany and Denmark. Undoubtedly, as a future educator, I am in the right to wish the best for my potential students. In my view, free education in Chile could end up with the segregated society that characterizes

Chileans. For instance, there is a Chilean educational book published in 2013 titled

“Tell me the school you studied at, and I will tell you your IQ”. This is the clear example of the notorious educational gap today, and therefore, which I would like to change in the future.

A third element would be more counselling. Chile should invest more on students’ and educators' mental health so that we avoid problems that later nobody knows how to handle. When I mean more counselling, I am talking about more professionals or experts since right now this task relies on teachers. It is common knowledge that counselling is part of the academic program of a teaching or pedagogy course, yet it is not enough in the face of the difficulties that both teachers and students go through in a changing world. Thus, I would really like to find more specialized support in the near future in all educational institutions. 

To conclude, it is evident that Chile has progressed in several aspects in the past decades. The Chile of the past is marked by hardness, which is not useful to bring back. Nevertheless, that past is needed to understand the present. In my own experience, I value the things that make our life better such as opportunities and more equality, but I am also aware that there are immediate needs that must be addressed such as family support, free education, and counselling for the school community.  These improvements will definitely lead us where to go and make Chile a better place to live. 

[dragonomatopoeia]

Would like to preface this by agreeing with OP-- we are well past the time of pretending that every piece of classic literature is written by a white man. I'd even hazard a step further and say that it's time to dispense with the excuse that white writers are the only ones assigned in English classes.

For one, the Jewish identities of many prominent USAmerican writers tend to get swept aside when dismissing the classics as 'written by a bunch of white guys'. Isaac Asimov, Ira Levin, Arthur Miller, and J.D. Salinger are all commonly read in high school English courses, and they were all Jewish-American.

For another, I can only attest to my own experience; however, I attended a different high school every year until I graduated, and Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe was assigned no less than three times across those schools. One of those instances was smack dab in the middle of the bible belt, in a school that didn't have enough funding to replace the doors to their bathroom stalls. That being established, I'd like to change tacks

A mutual rightly pointed out that even within America there are a wealth of classics written by people of color. Furthermore, the modern literary scene would be unidentifiable without their contributions and influences.

Could you imagine modern literature without the Harlem Renaissance? Without Langston Hughes? Nella Larson? Or what about the influences, the knock-on effects of it? Imagine modern literature without Maya Angelou. James Baldwin. Ralph Ellison. Lorraine Hansberry.

Imagine modern literature without Magical Realism. Without Isabelle Allende. Gabriel García Márquez. Toni Morrison.

Fortunately, we do not have to. In any case, it would be an impossible feat, even before we move into considering how inextricable the literary traditions of Indigenous storytellers are from American art as a whole.

We do not have to imagine a world without Leslie Marmon Silko. Simon J. Ortiz. Vine Deloria Jr. Ryan RedCorn. Thomas King

The world of American literature is not a small white box! There is such a vast and varied world of writing to explore! We are all in conversation with one another. The world outside is beautiful, the world around us is beautiful, and our neighbors and relatives and friends and ancestors have stories and experiences to share! Absolutely reach beyond the literature of your country, your continent, but don't forget how many different people and communities are around you, trying to hold a conversation with you, every day.

kills me that "every single classic out there is written by white people" is such a common take. are the literary traditions of other countries a fucking joke to you? come on. go read the journey to the west or something I beg

[problematiquebitch]

Long Post on Race

I'm gonna say it and let it stand and not really care about the discourse. This is mainly American based.

Being African American is truly a traumatizing experience and honestly I'm tired of the nonsense. We are the most disrespected in regards to discrimination both irl, online, etc yet magically everyone wants to be in our culture/hair/etc.

It's wild how people love to silence and have inherent disdain for black people they don't have any compassion for us.

It's wild how black history is supposed to be American history yet magically mysteriously critical parts of black history are deemed "too much".

It's wild looking at textbooks having the audacity to state we were "unpaid workers" and "forced migrants" yet the same people want to say Irish people were slaves in America.

It's wild how something so pivotal in America we are told to get over in spite of it having extreme ramifications towards the American south and why in regards to Northern states they are extremely behind. Mississippi is the most racist state and yet it ranks dead fucking last in education, healthcare, etc. These things aren't coincidences at all. It's wild how segregation is slowly being erased along with the laws that divided black Americans. It's wild how Miscegenation laws were created simultaneously with segregation and we have idiots justifying it.

They say we're poor and lazy when tipping culture literally was invented because they didn't fucking pay newly freed black Americans anything. We're poor because they don't want us to work jobs they don't want us to have yet we're lazy because we're unwilling to work for free.

True erasure is our community being razed to the ground time and time again. Black Wall Street, Lake Lanier, hell common sense. It's wild how there's all these sticks and random towns off of these highways but mysteriously you never see a predominantly black town. Don't y'all find that odd?

It's wild watching as the Harlem Renaissance is being ignored and not taught leaving voices like Langston Hughes, Claude McKay, and Jessie Redmont are being forgotten to time when in literature they are just as important and critical to development and learning.

It's wild knowing people needed to watch a fucking movie to learn who Emmett Till was. It's even more disgusting that if one truly went into American history you'd learn our justice system and how African Americans have always had law enforcement pushed on them because shocker slavery is allowed in America as a punishment. Those laws like loitering, etc were created to throw ex slaves in jail to make them slaves again. It's wild how one hour trials for black people were a thing. Look up George Stinney Jr. a black child that was falsely convicted of murder and was executed after 20 minutes of a trial in which no evidence was brought against him. He was executed at 14 and the conviction didn't get vacated until 2014!

It's wild how when black people talk about the civil rights era we are told it was so long ago when 1968 is not long ago. It's wild how people try to pretend that the same racism at its "height" was not passed down or taught to the children in that era.

It's wild how these conservative and redpill men talk about rape hysteria yet will unironically say stupid shit like the Central Park 5 actually r@ped the woman when there. is. no. evidence. linking. them. to. the. crime!!!!

It's frustrating how from the beginning we are held as shifty and untrustworthy yet yt people automatically get the benefit of the doubt. It's wild how these white people who love to dunk on China actively say China is good for being racist and denying black people the ability to move or go to their country because "they steal and are criminals". It's wild being judged as a criminal before doing anything.

It's wild how we cannot make "lavish" amounts of money/be "successful" without selling out our own race. It's wild how we must play racial stereotypes and degrade ourselves in order to get anywhere in America. It's crazy how white kids wearing dreadlocks and braids are expressing themselves and we should share our culture with them but when we indulge in our culture we're dangerous and thugs.

It's wild how online people love blackness for the woke points but then mysteriously step out of line or be outspoken they want to do hate crusades against you.

It's wild how problematic black people get deplatformed yet we must forgive problematic white people(not just limited to white people as we're seeing this play out with an Asian man rn as we speak). Meanwhile problematic white people Trisha Paytas, Shane Dawson, Jeffreyana Stareisha, etc can be racist say the hard n word and in one case make sexual actions towards a black minor yet we're supposed to forgive and forget.

It's wild looking at how Nazis are still being prosecuted while dying on oxygen, we've seen them deport the same Nazi scientists they brought over to America to work against Russia. Yet when we ask for people like Carolyn Bryant Dunham they said she's to old to be prosecuted. It's wild how a black child got murdered yet mysteriously people will defend the man who is a known wife beater and abuser because "he might have been violent". It's wild how when people do stuff to black people it's acceptable but when it escalates to other races it isn't.

Being black is praying you don't get killed by the police when you actually fucking need them and have idiots justify it when the overarching problem with our police extends further than just black people.

We've gotten better and we will always move forward fundamentally but I find it disgusting that the core root mentality that is racism against black people is still subscribed to by white liberals, conservatives, etc. It's wild how black people get all these lip services but unless we state one of the two acceptable opinions for us or give a nuanced answer y'all hate us.