Make it Plain – Black Hair, pt. I

Scandalous!  what you think?

-amari

a poem

Momma tell me
say she like when i write ‘bout sun and trees,
and pretty thangs.
that my other words offend.

But Momma,
these ain’t sun and tree times.
And Freedom gotta offend somebody.

-amari

One year after Jena…

A few days old, but relevant nonethe less.  Check out Make it Plain: The People’s Talk Thang, episode II.

-amari

That Cool, Refreshing Drink…try it with your friends

i was watching Maury with my grandmother the other day.  After the shocking revelation that Shaquan was not the father, i saw her wince and hold her lower back as she reached for the fried plantain on the table in front of her.  This prompted me to ask about her health.  After all, she is a 70-something-year-old Black woman.  Decades of poor eating, ignored aches, and, the obvious, white oppression, take their toll on even the strongest of us.  But it was her response to a basic question that was particularly jarring.  i had asked if she drinks water regularly, and in a thick Liberian accent perfectly preserved after all these years like dried cod fish buried in layers of salt, she responded, “i get my water in my beer.”

Make it Plain: The People’s Talk Thang

Me and my man Samori, the dynamic duo henceforth known as the sons of Malcolm, launched the first episode of our show over here

This is what it’s looking like:

-amari