"All I want to know
for my own protection
is are we capable
of whatever
whenever."
for my own protection
is are we capable
of whatever
whenever."
Essex Hemphill "For My Own Protection"
#whateverwhenever #blacklivesmatter oracle day #2: For My Own Protection from Alexis Pauline Gumbs on Vimeo.
The #whateverwhenever oracle is Eternal Summer of the Black Feminist Mind's offering to the #blacklivesmatter ride, a national movement in solidarity with young black people in Ferguson, Missouri with a vision towards a just society within which black life is cherished. Today's poem is "For My Own Protection" by Essex Hemphill from the revolutionary anthology In the Life edited by Joseph Beam.
To activate the oracle, choose a letter of the alphabet (your initials? the initials of a loved one? a letter that is speaking to you..) and read the poem for that letter aloud to yourself. If you happen to choose a letter that has no words in the original poem you get to make your own poem using only words that begin with that letter of the alphabet.
A
an
and
are
and
able
a
are
almost
and
a
around
around
Anacostia
are
and
and
any
a
about
attire
a
all
are
B
be
Black
be
be
Black
be
Black
blood
bush
C
cats
Chrysler
can
can
chain
can
can
chains
curls
conkaline
concerned
capable
D
dogs
don’t
don’t
dead
drugs
do
dreadlocks
E
each
extinct
each
F
for
for
Foundation
formed
form
for
G
H
Heritage
human
human
Harlem
Hollywood
have
I
I
if
I
I
if
if
I’m
I
is
J
K
know
L
life
lives
living
M
my
my
men
missile
men
make
more
my
N
Nixon
Nuclear
not
O
own
organization
other
other
our
or
of
own
P
protection
priceless
people
pacified
phillies
protection
Q
R
release
rock-n-roll
ready
ready
S
start
save
snails
saved
saved
should
save
study
saying
sex
sites
surely
South Africa
s
soldier
T
to
to
the
to
to
the
to
to
the
then
to
take
tomorrow
than
the
to
U
us
V
W
want
whales
we
want
wait
want
Wall Street
we
with
we
want
we
whatever
whenever
X
Y
Z
No comments:
Post a Comment