American - Writer | - 6
Living under the perpetual and pervasive threat of racism seems, for black men and black women, to quite literally reduce lifespans.
Clint Smith
WomenMenRacismBlackLivingSeems
Preparing oneself for the possibility of confronting racism triggers something that slowly chips away at physical and emotional well-being.
RacismWell-BeingEmotionalSomething
Growing up in New Orleans, I was always the only black kid, or one of two, on the school soccer team. While I was always conscious of this status, what took precedent was my unfettered love of the game.
LoveSchoolTeamGrowing UpGame
In my home, guns were not something to be earned or celebrated. Water guns and Nerf guns were not allowed outside. B.B. guns were not even a part of the conversation.
HomeWaterConversationOutsideGuns
To operate with the aspiration of color-blindness in a country whose central operating mechanism for centuries has been race belies the logic of race-neutral public policy. Public policy must account for the historic and intentional pillaging of resources experienced by black Americans.
BlackLogicCountryIntentionalRace
New Orleans taught me that mourning takes many different forms. Where I'm from, mourning is spirited. It is loud.
MeNewNew OrleansWhereDifferent
Abolition seemed a fantasy when Frederick Douglass called for all slaves to be released.
FantasySlavesAbolitionReleased
My poetry is me trying to reconcile my own life and opportunities I've had with opportunities my students aren't given and how profoundly unfair that is.
LifePoetryMeOpportunitiesTrying
People create the sort of myths they want to believe about themselves.
PeopleBelieveCreateWantMyths
While violence is part of what it means to be part of the black diaspora in the United States, that is not all it means to be black.
BlackViolenceUnitedUnited States
Sometimes a poem should just be about a girl jumping rope. It doesn't have to be something that is imbued with more despair.
GirlSometimesMoreRopeDespair
We inculcate young people with the message that if they don't succeed, it is merely of their own doing. They should have worked harder, we say. They should have made better decisions. This message is especially present in communities of color.
PeopleSucceedColorPresentBetter
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