A Review of The Mauritanian

Here's my new piece at Rehumanize International., a review of the movie The Mauritanian. Much respect to Mohamedou Ould Slahi for letting his story be told. It's unimaginable what happened,  and unconscionable similar things are still going on in our name. 

For Her: A Poem

 

My Telfar bag came in the mail today.

A woman 

just like Riah Milton, Dominique Fells  or Ashley Moore

probably imagining what it's like to have one

Can only see getting one 

As a pipe dream

She got kicked out of her home for coming out 

We meet in a connection of soul

Where her being herself 

Calls a greater self out of me

No fists 

No suit

saying the shelter she's trying to get into 

can look up her skirt 

before letting her in

"I've got this, sis", she tells me

In this space

"Just have my back".

This is for her.

Surprise!!!

Well, the cat's out of the bag. Your humble blogger is a staff writer for Rehumanize International! Here's my first piece:

https://www.rehumanizeintl.org/post/a-tale-of-two-views-of-anti-violence

We're on Black Catholic Messenger!

About losing track of time- please forgive the lack of a post here last month. There is some news that happened in the meanwhile:

Your humble blogger made it to Black Catholic Messenger! BCM is a nonprofit media outlet uplifting the voices of Black Catholics. Here's the link to my article:

https://www.blackcatholicmessenger.com/black-catholic-history-books/?s=01

Food for thought: Mike Drop Edition

 Once again. your humble blogger had a moment of happening upon a quote just begging to be shared- especially in this moment in time. Presenting without comment because nothing will do it justice:

On "Black Saints in Early Modern Catholicism"

Recently, your humble blogger became aware of Erin Kathleen Rowe's Black Saints in Early Modern Catholicism through a social media post.  It was intriguing in that as someone who is Black and Catholic, it isn't common to see discussion of Black people, including saints who were Black, in light of the history of the universal Church. Thankfully, there are strides being made to change that, including Professor Shannen Dee Williams' #BlackHistoryisCatholicHistory work and Dr. Tia Noelle Pratt's Black Catholic Syllabus.  If memory serves correctly, the aforementioned social media post was a response to Professor Williams ' commentary. All in all, it was serendipitous that this led to reading Rowe's tome.

Black Saints deftly explores the veneration of Black saints in the early modern period,  from the 16th to 18th centuries. Through extensive research and analysis of images from religious sites in the Iberian peninsula that went long unstudied, Rowe illustrates how devotion to these holy figures, promulgated by enslaved Africans in the region at the time provided a different blueprint for looking at holiness,  blackness, and cultural power.  This blueprint,  she demonstrates, had a impact on the societies where these devotions occurred and eventually made its way to the New World.

It goes without saying that the history of Catholicism is deep and rich- so much so, there is much that has gone undiscovered. This is especially true in terms of the history and traditions of Black people in the Church and their impact on the Church globally. For those interested in this part of Catholic history,  Black Saints in Early Modern Catholicism and the work of Professor Williams and Dr. Pratt are definitely worthwhile engagements.

What is Enough?

(Inspired by Nikki Giovanni's writing game for her students)

That we all-

Whoever we are-

live, love, and are loved

in the dignity and truth

accorded to us

as human beings 

from the Most High 

That is enough,

at least for me.