“Alexa, play Boys II Men “Goodbye”
Is it me or does the last week of Black History Month feel somewhat gloomy? But let’s be honest – in Memphis where 60 some percent of Memphians are Black – every month can be Black History Month. Every month, we should dedicate some time to uplift our history, our stories, our culture, and everything that makes us the “coolest motherfunkers on the planet” according to Andre 3000. This past weekend at TEDx Memphis, multidisciplinary artist Nubia Yasin did just that. Here’s her piece “For My People.”
For My People
after Margaret Walker
For my people
For baby girls in beaded braids and bird chested, pot bellied baby boys
Singin’ bout they pinkies and they thumbs, and takin’ after their grandmas or uncles or daddies and Lord knows where he is or they know where he is and it’s here or there,
And so is mama
And they be fallin’ asleep in service
And stickin’ their tongues through the gaps in their teeth
With kool aid red mouths and hot cheeto fingers and places to go and best friends to make and new words to learn and so they ain’t got no time for dying
This be for the sometimes when they do just that too
For my people, the fan wavin’ always hot aunties
Always hollerin’ aunties
Who make hard pews soft from wear
And knees worn from prayer
Who be prayin’ and prayin’ and askin’ and beggin’ and hopin’ and hoping
For big boy cousins, protectin’ cousins, always outside up to no good, wish-a-ni**a-would cousins
Who put money in the mailbox or the cereal box or a shoe box or a box spring for their mothers to find
For the groceries
For rent
For bail
For dreamy eyes dreamin’ their dreams and makin’ their art and movin’ in and movin’ out and fallin’ in love and bein’ young and bein’ broke and hungry but ready and restless
For the tired eyes, too-young-to-be-this-tired eyes in Fedex hubs and Nike Factories
Who still be dreamin’ but only when they sleep
For the bruise black, and the blush black
And the high yella black, and the black that’s too ashamed to say it’s black
And the black unashamed and loud
All my ni**as is loud
And hush mouthed
And a hum in a choir of bug mouths
And immortal
And impossibly angry
And a stretched skin bursting black jubilee
And earth bound and sky prone
And sharp darkness
And brilliant light
And baby girls in beaded braids and bird chested, pot bellied baby boys
Who deserve, and deserve, and deserve
For my people
Let my skin folk breathe better air
And sleep better at night
And live better in waking
Let the earth cradle us for once
And cushion our steps
As we walk towards this new world
Where the sun shines black
Nubia Yasin is a multidisciplinary artist and co-founder of NuJas, a production house that aims to focus on the stories of Black women and queer folks of color. Check out Nubia’s live performance of For My People here. For more on Nubia, follow her on Instagram or Facebook.
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