176 Search results for "poetry"

By Tonya Pennington Every now and then, I’ll hear a news story about a mixed raced person that makes me sigh. This was the case recently with chef and entrepreneur Ayesha Curry, who discussed her experience with her heritage on The View. Since her mother is Jamaican-Chinese and her father is African-American and Polish, Curry […]

Editor’s Note: This month at BYP, we will be exploring Education & Schooling, and we are interested in publishing works that address these topics. What are the implications of charter and private schools in communities of color? How do we counteract anti-Black textbooks and teachers in our childrens’ education? How did you heal from bullying […]

This essay contains discussions of racialized sexual violence and mentions r/pe and molestation.  by Mekleit Dix The Handmaid’s Tale is a wildly popular American Television show based on a novel of the same name by Margaret Atwood. It portrays a dystopian nightmare: sterility in women becomes a widespread epidemic resulting in a break down of […]

This year, Fix—Grist’s solutions lab—put out a call for short stories for their first climate- fiction contest. The call was an invitation to look beyond this moment of climate devastation and dream up what the next 180 years of climate repair can be. Imagine 2200: Climate Fiction for Future Ancestors, sponsored by NRDC, drew more […]

  by Julia Mallory “…but in them days they wasn’t no time for mournin.’ ” —Mary Reynolds, Texas Slave Narratives Volume XVI Part III Juneteenth began as a day of celebration commemorating the emancipation of enslaved people in Galveston, Texas on June 19th, 1866. Since then, it has offered Black folks an opportunity to remember […]

by Kamilah Bush This essay discusses sexual assault and r/pe.  The first episode of HBO’s Lovecraft Country is possibly one of the most perfect television pilots of all time, in my opinion. The opening shot, drops us in the middle of a typical enough looking war scene—it is a familiar cinematic landscape with images we […]

y’all playin. we got these libido ones kissin cute in the corner. these other rhythm ones at the speaker nodding and taking requests. those bodies over there with sweat and hips and shoulders. even the head ones creating clouds we can smell and taste. she just got here and it will only be a few […]

i found a watch and some liquor in the backseat we was already guilty when we found the keys  even in the bright of day sun stealing glow off shine  near the high school downtown close to the bars and the bus line  our melanin catching light too    and we was still dead wrong […]

by Taneasha White Nonprofit work is always seen as “God’s work.” Before they even know which organization I work with, chatty Uber and Lyft drivers immediately thank me for my service.  There are things that are commonplace within nonprofits that aren’t expected in corporate settings. The idea of “ice breakers” before meetings, flex time, or […]

 by Cheryldean Peters Beginning in the early 1600s, my ancestors were legally forced into slavery and robbed of their freedom. They were involuntarily exploited, beaten and forced to work as servants, which primarily helped generate income for America’s economy. Their servitude drastically enhanced local and colonial economics while creating generational wealth for their oppressors. Africans […]

BYP is launching our featured writers’ program, called The Spotlight. These four writers will publish one piece per month for a year on topics of their choice. These writers have been hand-picked by us and we’re excited to welcome them onboard. Here are our current Featured Writers! Originally from San Francisco, Tongo Eisen-Martin is a poet, movement worker, and educator. His […]

by Andrew Keahey White supremacy doesn’t allow for Black anger. The second we get even mildly irritated in any way and make the mistake of actually showing it, we’re labeled as irrational, problematic, and even violent. You see it all the time. It’s one of the reasons twitchy white cops use to justify their brutality […]