By: Elaine Dodoo (‘18) Communication Major + Entrepreneurship Minor
writing while black
writing while black is to declare war on those who terrorized your existence.
those who are still terrorizing.
it is to pick up a pen and rewrite historical lies.
it is avenging the first slave.
it is loading a gun with words and shooting Hegel in the face.
writing while black is snatching your voicebox from those who dare speak for you
and shoving it back into your larynx.
it is licking the blood from your hands and tasting truth.
it is finding it sometimes sweet sometimes bitter
it is swallowing it anyway
it is acquiring its taste
writing while black is to be the medium Change uses to speak to Revolution.
it is Protest shaking hands with Action
it is knowing the revolution will not be televised but it will be written
it is being the black ink
writing while black is to welcome Assata into your home.
it’s to have coffee with Fanon before your afternoon walk with Maya
it is to create our own language and speak it too.
it is to be heard.
writing while black is to be magic.
it is constructing whole universes where you are free
it is to set yourself free
it is to be your own master.
it is to loosen the noose and leave your story hanging
it is to turn their heads and make them look
it is not compromising for white comfort
it is to speak without raising your hand
it is to unapologetically give yourself permission
to write while black is self care.
to write while black is activism.
to write while
black is power.
