Poetry

Less than two seconds. Let that sink in. It took less than two seconds to make, What a Grand Jury rules is a legally reasonable decision. The patrol car was still rolling onto the scene. And yet, the Officer, Timothy Loehmann, pleads, He shouted four [...]

Nobody called me a nigga to my face But behind backs and closed doors I am sure I have been called every kind of n-word Especially when I excelled in systems designed for me to fail nigga Or called out bigotry and privilege in classrooms [...]

I grew up in a house where 'I Love you' sounded a lot like broken glass and bodies crashing into one another way too hard. A house where Love was too loud and too angry for pillow talk. Love's beauty was invisible to the eye [...]

You, it seems, are the manifestation of several lifetimes of toil. Brown v. Board in flesh. Most days the classroom feels like an antechamber. You are deemed expert on all things Morrison, King, Malcolm, Rosa. Hell, weren’t you sitting on that bus, too? You are [...]

Black Mothers remember you are warriors the root of African Nations courageous resilient resolute you hold truth on your side you are light in the devastation makers of ways when there are none your existence is revolutionary their institutions will try and convince you to chew [...]

Piercing through the silence a strong and ardent voice emerges. The Poet, Aja Monet is heard to say, “Melissa Williams, Darnisha Harris, Michelle Cassell.” These are the names of many of the girls and women who were injured or killed by police. Sadly, too few have heard [...]

By Paul L. Thomas, Ed.D. | Originally Published at The Becoming Radical. April 1, 2015 Spring semester 1980, I was a first-year student at Spartanburg Methodist College and the class was Public Speaking 101, taught by Steve Brannon. At that point in my redneck life, I was [...]

You say you don't see color Do you see flowers? lavender and pink Carroty, crimson, and umber? What about the dress I'm wearing? Do you see its color? I wonder Is it black and blue or white and gold? I recall the frenzy — All over color. [...]

Our purpose is to love and love some more. To fail to love would be a mortal crime. We don’t know what the future holds in store, but surely this: we will each run out of time. So we are charged to love beneath the sun [...]