118 Search results for "dignity"

I remember the first time I had my intelligence questioned by a peer like it was yesterday; I had just won the regional spelling bee when a classmate, a non-Black person of color, started a rumor that my accomplishments were simply a result of me smoking marijuana. I was 14, and had never smoked a […]

By Amanzi Arnett Dowdy   “This is a new meaning of family… It wasn’t a question of a man and a woman and children, which we grew up knowing as a family. It’s a question of a group of human beings in a mutual bond.” – Dorian Corey For much of my life, gender was […]

by Amber Butts How many Black and Brown women have been asked to hold something so everything else can keep going? Nightmares—living ones—are why many do not come forward, especially in movements that keep the abuser’s name, knowingly or not, as part of how the work understands itself. What was done stays, and the weight […]

by Amber Butts My maternal grandmother, Audrie, who was a second mother to me, was my first entry point in witnessing mutual aid in practice. She became a widow before the age of 21, followed by a long bout of alcoholism and depression. She experienced her share of heartbreak. She and my maternal grandfather were […]

In the United States, police kill over 1,000 and injure more than 51,000 people each year, with evidence suggesting that these figures could be underreported by as much as 55%. In addition to these numbers being substantially higher than other developed nations, unfortunately, they are also plagued by biases and systematic failures which disproportionately affect […]

by Bryson Scott Check out the amazing and imaginative art work of Bryson Scott. Ancestral Backturn We encounter a figure turned away from us—unbothered, unwavering. Clothed in a green kimono with traditional patterns, crowned by a natural halo of hair, and framed by a serene lunar glow, this piece speaks of quiet strength. It’s a […]

Throughout my work creating collages, and scouring the web for meaningful art, I have found thousands of images of unidentified Black people. These photos of Black women, children, men, and their families, are all with unknown origins. The archives show blank faces that stare at the camera, remaining still because the slightest move will ruin […]

By Itoro Udofia I grew up under the tutelage of The God of the Binary. He was forever in opposition to a ubiquitous outside force. He was the Good opposed to Evil. The Strong opposed to Weak. Right opposed to Wrong. There I stood, an eager and inquisitive girl child, making mistakes and looking for […]

Editor’s Note: This month at BYP, we will be exploring Black Liberation & Organizing, and we are interested in publishing works that address these topics. How do we hold politicians accountable to Black communities? Is that even possible? What should be our role in the electoral politics? What does abolition look like in practice? What […]

by Donnie Moreland  In my six years participating in scholastic speech and debate competition, the one lasting impression of the sport itself, less any social interaction, was that language is never fixed. Language is neither absolute, or inherent. Language is craftable, manipulatable, sellable and infinitely interpretable.  This seems obvious, but when you think of how […]

By Diane Wong On Tuesday, June 23 members of the Freedom Inc. Freedom Youth Squad organized a slow car procession down Park Street in Madison, Wisconsin. Afterwards, youth leaders gathered for a socially distant rally to pressure the Madison School Board to remove police from schools. One week later, the Madison School District Board of […]

by Donnie Moreland “Art museums are nothing more than haunted houses.” In Demetrius’s head, the words spun like a tired wheel, as he walked the corners of the room. Like a drum, Marcus’s voice bounced as though he were still alive. “Art museums are nothing more than haunted houses. All museums are, really. But there […]