May 26, 2020
George Floyd died yesterday.
Knee on neck 8:46sec
Black Girl by Elizabeth Catlett is how I feel today.
It’s not a new feeling, but it is an undercurrent to my very being.
After Biden’s ‘You ain’t Black’ bullshit, Trumps’ admiration of Ford’s bloodline, and Minneapolis police’s choice to sit on a neck until death. After Georgia used black communities as a testing ground for pandemics, the recorded murder of a black jogger, New Orleans’ struggle with a natural disaster worse than Katrina, & knowing how so many people of color were already disadvantaged before the pandemic struck...
Then there was Amy Cooper and her privileged ass calling the cops and lying on a bird watching black man in Central Park.
I am just...very Black Girl today.
I caught myself listening to Meshell Ndegocello’s rendition of Young Gifted & Black. And I gotta say;
You black one, are born of a lineage with talents the world can never replicate.
Talents the most revered celebrities learned from you.
You’re gorgeously intelligent, complicatedly resplendent, battle worn yet battle Strong. You find a way to make the best parts of you Survive.
Every time.
So thrive on, black child. Thrive. THRIVE!
You’re living a hard life with a heart that remains open and forgiving.
Trust those who Earn your trust.
Stand up for what you know is right.
But never forget your open-hearted forgiveness, because we love each other the way we love the world.
Everyone wants what you have.
They want it all except for your circumstances.
What you were born with, black child, is magical.
What you are capable of, my love, can’t help but grab the attention of Humanity - across The Ages!
There’s a billion black boys and girls who are young gifted gifted and black.
And that’s a fact.
Live above your circumstances. Turn your face to the sun and let your melanin shine your brilliance So Bright they can’t ignore it.
Don’t let what you’re up against gaslight you into believing that you don’t deserve better.
Don’t shine for them. Shine for YOU!!
As we shine more allies will appreciate the gifts we share so freely.
Those allies that can, will DO something about it.
Life is stacked against us.
Still I say, shine on, Black child. Shine On!
But never forget where you came from.
