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SugarCoated and Springtime
They get tired of hearing it. Ain’t nobody got to say it, I know that they get tired. Tired of these distractions in brown-colored skin waking up from Valley’s with muscles and tendons all conscious-like. Uncovering the blood in the American Flag— Tired, tethered, and intoxicated with his story. Unraveling the color of bigotry on… Continue reading
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If My Books Shall Die
I read James Baldwin today and realized I was carrying his bones in the crooks of my arms, and that if my books shall die, then I have labored in vain. I have swam through centuries and ran years in someone else’s shoes, I have climbed mountains and crawled under valleys only to bleed death. I have wasted my time carving obsession into paper with invisible ink, Words fallen like stars on deaf ears. If my books shall die, then let me not be born. Take me back to the safety of my mother’s womb, the privacy of not yet existing if my works have been in vain. If my books shall die, then I do not exist. Not on the tops of your shelves, or faced down on kitchen counters, or underneath your children’s beds. Honor me in the palms of your hands and not standing next to Grandmother’s old picture in the living room— Grandmother is dead and I do not wish to die. Give me my flowers today and accept the life I offer you in the form of metaphors On silver platters, For I am feeding you with silver spoons and all you’ve got to do is eat… I… Continue reading
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Revising The Stella Trilogy: Crafting Authentic Historical Details
In Beyond the Colored Line, book two of The Stella Trilogy, we meet Noah Daniels who is a member of The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense. There are two books I read that helped me to conceptualize his character in the most authentic way possible: Revolutionary Suicide by Huey P. Newton and The Assassination of Fred Hampton: How the FBI… Continue reading
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Thank You
When I first started this blog I always celebrated the small growth. I have learned to appreciate my journey without comparing it to anyone else’s, to clap for myself without feeling the need to explain it, and to double check that everything I do is in humility and not to feed the ego. I have… Continue reading
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Black History Fun Fact Friday – Anna M. Mangin
Born in October of 1854 in Louisiana, Anna invented a kitchen tool she called a pastry fork. The system of patents for inventions was not easy for African Americans at the time. Enslaved people were not considered people, they were not US citizens, and the rights of the US constitution did not apply to them.… Continue reading
