Black Cicada That Change Can not a life expectancy Not revolution Here I am Down I am hunkering Feelers as nails So world wills me Though this Die I will not Black bird From white ant to My make up Who will hear my song? I will tell you the heat In the crease of… Continue reading Two from the Road: Wilmington, Delaware
Year: 2015
A Conversation With Truth
I found myself sitting in a confined space, with my knees grasped and pushed my forehead into the tops of my kneecaps. I let my fingers run angrily up and down the sides of my legs as the cadence of my inhale versus my exhale became more staccato in nature. I was burnt out. As… Continue reading A Conversation With Truth
A League of Their Own
When I left Haiti in 1964, I was certainly aware of social and economic inequalities, as well as of those between men and women. I do remember, for instance, the enthusiasm of young people of my generation for projects of assistance and support to the needy, visits to the sick, and help in evangelization and… Continue reading A League of Their Own
My Kind of Gospel
Yes, I’ll admit it. I was a choir boy. I was the seven-year-old that would have singing lessons with his grandma that wouldn’t end until I either held my notes longer than her, or practiced my scales to her pleasing. Embarrassingly, I wanted to be in the choir for many years, and when I finally… Continue reading My Kind of Gospel
Hola, Morocha
As I maneuvered the shit-laden sidewalks of San Telmo, a gently gentrified neighborhood of Buenos Aires, I couldn’t help but hear the Sesame Street song “one of these things is not like the other, one of these things just doesn’t belong,” playing from an imaginary loudspeaker. To see people’s reactions to me, you’d think I… Continue reading Hola, Morocha
A Letter to My Father
It wasn’t until we stopped speaking that I realized that we haven’t had a real conversation at any point in life. Sure, there have been talks, but they’ve always been one-sided, and I don’t think either of us realized it. Truth is, I’ve been living in your shadow for so long trying to be just… Continue reading A Letter to My Father
Life Away from the World
In 2007, I signed a contract that would forever change my life: a four-year agreement with the United States Marine Corps. I soon learned the true meaning of honor, courage, and commitment. At 20 years old, I had responsibilities that not many young men my age would regularly have. I trained hard and gave my… Continue reading Life Away from the World
Train Up a Child
From an early age, I wanted to be a mother. I never thought too deeply about how I would raise my children or the values I’d instill into them, but I figured when the time came I’d sit down and discuss it with my husband. As I’m closing in on the final months of my… Continue reading Train Up a Child
Stokely and the Birth of Black Power
Cocky. Self-assured. Reckless. Radical. Activist. Organizer. Leader. By the summer of 1966, any of these words would be used to describe the man who coined the term Black Power, signaling the official shift from the Civil Rights Movement to the Black Power Movement. No man made a greater contribution to the Civil Rights Movement while… Continue reading Stokely and the Birth of Black Power
Martinique
The best ideas happen around 3am. That’s my experience, at least. They tend to be superlative decisions if someone in the decision matrix is inebriated or otherwise compromised by more than mere exhaustion. Hence, when my inebriated host suggested I take an early morning ferry from the monastery in Saint Lucia where I was staying… Continue reading Martinique