Represent – like black butterflies

Black Owned Businesses

Over the last couple of years I’ve been searching out Black Owned Businesses (BOBs) to patronize for products and services. Admittedly the services aspect has been a bit more difficult because by the time you price out contractors and compare, often it doesn’t work out. For other consumable goods, it’s definitely an easier process. Clothing…

Book 16: Teaching My Mother How To Give Birth–Warsan Shire

By: like black butterflies July 16, 2018July 15, 2018

Represent30 Books, 30 to 30, black girl magic, black women poets, Journey to 30, Somali, Warsan ShireLeave a Comment

I first learned about Warsan Shire through Beyoncé. Her visual album, Lemonade, had all this great dialogue in between songs, and it turns out it was attributed to Shire, so of course I had to know more. She was born in Kenya to Somali parents and immigrated to the United Kingdom. What’s wild to think…

Book 15: Homegirls & Handgrenades–Sonia Sanchez

By: like black butterflies July 11, 2018July 7, 2018

Represent30 Books, 30 to 30, black girl magic, black women poets, Homegirls and Handgrenades, Journey to 30, poetry, Sonia Sanchez, well read black girlLeave a Comment

Another book of poetry, another reminder of how difficult poetry is (can be) to fully grasp. I feel like to truly appreciate Sonia Sanchez I need to read this in a class with someone facilitating a discussion; someone who knows more about her, knows how to interpret her stylizations. I never could figure out what to…

MC Elis – 6 year old Brazilian musical artist

By: like black butterflies April 15, 2018July 22, 2018

RepresentAfrican Diaspora, Afro-brazilian, black and proud, black excellence, black girl magic, black power, carefree, child activists, Elis Mc, happy to be nappy, hope for the future, unbotheredLeave a Comment

This young girl is over here singing about: Loving her natural hair: it’s NOT dry/hard, it’s her crown as a queen Being sick of racism Pride in her Blackness: referring to herself explicitly as Black (preta) rather than one of the endless other terms that refer to color (mulata, moreninha) but try to maintain distance…

Black National Anthem, 3

By: like black butterflies February 23, 2018February 23, 2018

Representacapella, black history is American history, black history month, black national anthem, lift every voice and sing, negro national anthemLeave a Comment

Black National Anthem, 2 (1990)

By: like black butterflies February 16, 2018

Representblack history is American history, black history month, black national anthem, lift every voice and sing, Melba Moore, negro national anthem, Teri Lyne CarringtonLeave a Comment

Book 7: Zami: A New Spelling of My Name–Audre Lorde

Admission: I added Audre Lorde to my list of Black women authors to read because I thought I should stop silently nodding my head in agreement whenever someone referenced her during conversation so I could avoid having to admit that I’d actually never read any of her work, and finally be able to critically engage…

Black National Anthem

By: like black butterflies February 5, 2018

Representacapella, black history is American history, black history month, black national anthem, Committed, committed sings, lift every voice and sing, the real national anthemLeave a Comment

For whatever reason, yesterday morning I may have spent over an hour watching different youtube versions of the Black National Anthem aka Lift Every Voice and Sing. I guess I was looking for that perfect version: one that wasn’t too fast, that was arranged in parts instead of just singing the basic melody, one that…