What is it about me that I will jump into deep waters with only mediocre skills?
What insurance have I ever had that I would not drown?
Why?
Started January, 2019. Not finished (or maybe it is). Released on the cusp of June, 2019.
Author: Dr. Joy
Why we need HERITAGE MONTHS…
The sacrifice of self
Done to be an American
Is one that can only be born(e) by the one who carries
tears
Of joy
when others SEE you
In January…not yet, I guess winter is too long…
In February, being Black…American
In March, being woman…
In April, hearing, little or none, deaf…
In May, being Asian…Pacific Islander…American
In Summer from Memorial Day to Labor Day…American…just American of the U.S. variety…never mind that which is North or South or Central, beyond the 48 contiguous or territorized, colonized (or terrorized) in the oceans or the seas…
In September…in the middle…to the middle of October
then being Queer in October…in America
In November, being Indigenous in America…native
In December…back around to bear the weight of capital that comes in the form of indebtedness and frolicking that is heavy.
All year to be seen is important. To be represented on a calendar, in a school, in a bookstore or library display is to be celebrated from the inside out and outside in…is critical in the debate to be represented. WE ALL MATTER. WE KNOW THAT. For the marks made on a calendar, during the month that celebrates a heritage, perhaps others will see it too. New flavor of capital in each frame–social, cultural, powerful visions of who we have been before we carried who we are as Americans before we carry who we have been born to be…
Fearfully and wonderfully made…
Expressions
I Love
Black Men (male & female)
Who Express and dont
Their Joys & Pains
Realities & Dreams
Freely
Like
Milk
and
Honey
Pregnant
With the Possibilities of
New Language
For OLD IDEAS
Like
Love and joy and pain and real and dreamed
Reading
between the lines
on pages
like canvased art
The Real Roots of ‘Black Capitalism’
#Racialliteracy #Economics
REBLOG
Professor of Law Mehrsa Baradaran explains how Richard Nixon [President of the United States from 1969 to 1974] ignored “meaningful economic reforms proposed by black activists” for housing integration, reparations or both, because “[a]greeing to demands for federal spending or reparations in the ghetto was anti-capitalist.” “[W]ith the assistance of Alan Greenspan, the Nixon campaign’s economic adviser (and future Federal Reserve chairman)”, Nixon devised “black capitalism,” tax and credit policies that were repeated under different names and in one form or another in virtually every administration since. Baradaran concludes by saying “These programs fail because the benefits of capitalism always accrue to the owners of the capital, not to the people living in enterprise zones or promise zones. Using capitalism to fix the racial wealth gap will work only if there is a means to transfer capital, assets, wealth or housing.” Read the entire op ed by clicking here.
What I would’ve said…
If I had applied…
my self
to that thing
that I want, but not really,…
I See You: For BLM @ School
I see you
Side-eyeing
Me
In my tee
Black
With white
BLM messages
At School
You
Plural and singular you…
Funny how language works
You are they and we do not resist
This new way of being both singular and plural
Gender affirming
Life affirming
Love giving
One
My colleagues
My students
My teachers
Thinking…oooo, that’s so racist
Nah…
Your thoughts scream so loud
Your stares so hard
We remain invisible
Though our fight to be seen
By you
Remains the cause of the crimes
That make
ZERO TOLERANCE
Policy polite in your brown eyes green with envy to blue
Class divided
Ways of experimenting on
Us, me, we
Push back to be heard
We matter,
We the smallest group of other in the building by census though not…
By identity we band together though not…
All together banded
Black lives matter at school
For children and teachers
For we…
The least of these
Have the greatest need
To be seen and heard and valued and loved…
Reset
Every picture
Every thought, note and message
Every action saved to preserve the memory of a moment
LOST
Not planned yet the forces of an automatic reset command…
Every relationship
Every attitude
Every habit
To become an
OPPORTUNITY
To begin again…
To gain fresh perspective.
Happy New You.
Assignment: Be a Gift
Today is her born day in the year of her passing. How do I celebrate the loss of the one to whom I and my twin sister, we, were presented as a gift? With tears of joy, and feelings of gratitude, I simply whisper “I miss you” in my morning prayers.
I say, “thank you for sharing your life with us.”
I think, I have been blessed to be your gift for almost 50 years.
Rest in power, peace and love
answering the C.A.L.L.
When faced with the stress of service & servanthood
Hold on…
Serving and being a servant is about answering the C.A.L.L.
Community
Accountability
Literacy
Love…
We,
Those who teach, who counsel, who heal, who operate in the office of peace…
We know your fatigue…
We’ve felt and feel and hear and see your pain…
Be encouraged
Sistah Soldier
Be encouraged
Brothah Soldier
Seek community for in it is healthy accountability to the dream and vision…
Be literate for in loving words and ideas we find our voice and our strength
To write
To speak
To become stronger for the battles ahead…
Joy Barnes-Johnson, Ph.D. 