“Being black is about resilience, innovation, creativity, and excellence in the face of struggle.”
- unknown
Billie Holiday
sometimes the deaf
hear better than the blind
some men
when they first
heard her sing
were only attracted
to the flower in her hair
“Being Black is a result of being a part of an ancestral lineage that extends back to Africa.
In my Blackness and the lived experience of my ancestors I can celebrate Africanity as identity and being.”
I, Too
I, too, sing America.
I am the darker brother.
They send me to eat in the kitchen
When company comes,
But I laugh,
And eat well,
And grow strong.
Tomorrow,
I’ll be at the table
When company comes.
Nobody’ll dare
Say to me,
“Eat in the kitchen,”
Then.
Besides,
They’ll see how beautiful I am
And be ashamed—
I, too, am America.
“It means to be proud, creative, deep rooted, rich culture and very intelligent.”
Black Boys Play the Classics
The most popular “act” in Penn Station is the three black kids in ratty sneakers & T-shirts playing two violins and a cello—Brahms. White men in business suits have already dug into their pockets as they pass and they toss in a dollar or two without stopping. Brown men in work-soiled khakis stand with their mouths open, arms crossed on their bellies as if they themselves have always wanted to attempt those bars. One white boy, three, sits cross-legged in front of his idols—in ecstasy—their slick, dark faces, their thin, wiry arms, who must begin to look like angels! Why does this trembling pull us?
A: Beneath the surface we are one.
B: Amazing! I did not think that they could speak this tongue.
"Being Black means being born into deep gene pools concentrated with melanin and magic."
- Marcia
