#ywwav

Had the honor yesterday of reading a poem to introduce Dr Nadine Burke Harris as she received an award at the In Solidarity We Rise Convening. If you're not familiar with Dr Burke Harris' work on childhood trauma and its consequences in adulthood, check out her TED talk or literally google her name. I also got to present a workshop at the gathering about my work with #YWWAV - side note , this month marks our 1 year anniversary of the program 😱🕺🏿😍#BlackGirlMagic #BlackWomenShining #WeAreWhoWeBeenWaitingFor #MyExistenceIsPolitical #FreeQuency (at Lijst van bekende mensen uit Washington D.C.)

On a day where young people across the country are marching to speak out, I celebrate Akilah, Chasity and Darreonna, three young women I’ve had the pleasure of working with in #YWWAV and other areas. Im always in awe of how these three choose to use their voices and energies to the service of their communities, even when life seems ready to swallow them whole. They are part a future I am happy to see come to life. Today Darreonna and Chasity read/performed this powerful piece they’d written on how state violence, mental health and Black girlhood intersect. I high key wanna get #YWWAV to turn it into an entire production ... ... ... ... ... #IHopeDeonDoesntSeeThisCuzThenImaHaveToDoIt #MyExistenceIsPolitical #WWAV (at Arise Academy)

One of the first and most consistent themes we talk about and explore in Young Women With A Vision is Black women's existence being inherently political in the United States. We explore it from various angles and tonight we had an opportunity to witness Urban Bush Women's performance of "Hair & Other Stories". Black hair, especially Black womens hair is political and this performance was a wonderful exploration of that from a personal and historical standpoint. Every strand tells a story, and tonight I was grateful to listen with these young folks and some of the mentors in the program • #YWWAV #WWAV #MyExistenceIsPolitical

One of the first workshops we ever did at Young Women With A Vision was on #BlackLivesMatter, what it is/isn't and we explored in future workshops the movements in the past that it's built upon. We also read @chasinggarza's "A Herstory of Black Lives Matter" and spoke about the erasure of Black Womens work. It was such a pleasure to have some of the young folks come out the other day and listen to her live, to see and feel her humanity and see that it's just everyday folks who love Black people who are out there doing this work. Thank you to @amistadresearchcenter for hosting this event! #BlackLivesMatter #YWWAV #WWAV #MyExistenceIsPolitical

*taps 🎤* IM GOING ON TOUR! Jan 20th, 2018 marks Day 1 of my #BecomingBlack poetry tour with a show at the University of W Georgia! • 3 years ago I self published a book which sold over 1,000 copies but...I was real shy about my work back then and didn't think I could do much with it despite what my people told me. NOT NO MORE! 2018 is the year of not shrinking myself. Of allowing myself to accept that gifts I've been given and share them with the folks who want to and have asked to receive. Writing has always been so personal to me but last year I made a promise to myself and the people who've believed in me to take this art & activism thing where it needs to go which I guess is all over the US 🤓find me in a city near you this spring (shows are still being added to the end of the tour so if you got a show in one of the areas I'll be at or one outside those areas you want me to be on, hit up my team at [email protected]) • I'm still holding onto the commitments Ive made, especially to the young folks at the @noyouthopenmic and #YWWAV , but I'm also making a commitment to myself and the creator who create me to ... well create lol. This spring is gonna take a level of discipline and being with myself I haven't had in a while but I'm excited, I'm ready, I'm stepping into my shoes no matter how big they seem #FreeQuency #FreeQuencySpeaks #BecomingBlackTour #ItFeelsLikeBlessingaKeepBouncingOffMyForehead • flyers by @melasolgaleano