A Eulogy by Tania De Rozario

A Eulogy by Tania De Rozario

for everyone poked so full
of holes, their own voice passes
through them, history escaping
the body in a series of echoes.

for everyone distilled into colour
of skin, choice of pronoun, place
of origin, length of hair, years, skirt,
name, limbs, medical record.

for everyone made to believe
that the petals of persecution
blossomed from the buds
of their own paranoia.

for everyone passed over in favour
of a name that seemed easier
to pronounce, was less of an assault
to someone else’s comfort.

for everyone accused of prolonged
adolescence, scars on their arms
marking time like a calendar, body
taking itself into its own hands.

for everyone blamed
for the stare, grope, catcall, assault
that cut like glass into flesh as if
they had asked to be broken.

for everyone deceived
into dreaming, everyone who left home
and family to provide for home
and family, returning with nothing.

for everyone pumped
so full of doctrine, the guilt which ate
into their bones, made them believe
breaking them was the only way out.

Written for The Invisibility Project by Jasmine Cooray.

A Woman Speaks by Audre Lorde

A Woman Speaks by Audre Lorde

Moon marked and touched by sun
my magic is unwritten
but when the sea turns back
it will leave my shape behind.
I seek no favor
untouched by blood
unrelenting as the curse of love
permanent as my errors
or my pride
I do not mix
love with pity
nor hate with scorn
and if you would know me
look into the entrails of Uranus
where the restless oceans pound.

I do not dwell
within my birth nor my divinities
who am ageless and half-grown
and still seeking
my sisters
witches in Dahomey
wear me inside their coiled cloths
as our mother did
mourning.

I have been woman
for a long time
beware my smile
I am treacherous with old magic
and the noon's new fury
with all your wide futures
promised
I am
woman
and not white.

Black Disabled Art History 101 by Leroy F. Moore Jr

Black Disabled Art History 101 by Leroy F. Moore Jr

Sit down & listen
cause there will be a test at the end
Displaying & speaking
our history & culture
through music & art
From slavery to homeland security
Black disabled artists
roots grow deep
however this garden is starving for recognition
The most famous classical pianist
in the mid to late 19th century
was a Black Blind Autistic slave
Tom Wiggins aka Blind Tom was his slave name
his master used him to make money
and left him poor and broken
Horace Pippin, the first Black Disabled self-taught painter
lost his arm in WW1
using his left arm
to prop up his right forearm
crafted his first masterpiece depicting horrors of war
Oh, the price he paid for being Black, Poor,
Self-taught & Disabled
Blues is the Black Anthem
attract blind singers & musicians
to make a living on the streets
some made it into recording studios
Blind Willie McTell born in 1898
played on the streets of Atlanta
Blind Willie Johnson born around 1902
a street evangelist
stepmother threw lye
in young Johnson’s eyes
causing blindness
Johnson became the first
gospel guitarist too record
he died of pneumonia
hospital refused admittance
due to his blindness
Blind Blake & Blind Boone’s
Birthdates are not known
Blind John William Boone formed
his own concert company
traveling all over the country
more than 8,000 concerts
in the USA Canada, Europe & Mexico
The most popular Male Blues
recording artists of the twenties
was Blind Lemon Jefferson
he was also a street performer
Black deaf schools
in the fifties produced
independent businesses like barber shops
down south and social clubs in the East
Writers like Mary Herring Wright, Linwood
Smith & Ernest Hairston
voice the experiences of our Black Deaf Brothers & Sisters
Listen to the Melody Heartbeat of a Black Deaf Woman
Jades fingers reads I’m a proud Black Deaf Woman
Black sign language was developed ‘cause societal
attitudes & educational policy helped create a dual
system and what grew?
A strong Black Deaf identity
integration killed Black Sign & almost
erased Black Deaf Culture
Let’s travel to Jamaica
Where in the fifties Polio infected the island
Skelly, Wise & Apple are Israel Vibration
they met each other
at Mona Rehabilitation Center
got kicked out ‘cause their religious beliefs in Rasta
homeless, poor & disabled
began to sing on the streets
now they are the Fathers of Reggae
Back to Africa
tribal dancing
to the drumming, guitar strumming and singing
of Amadou & Mariam
a Blind married couple
blending Rock, Pop, Jazz & Hip Hop
with an international flavor
from Cuba to Asia & India to America
Coming home to the Bay Area
to swing from Charles Curtis Blackwell & Avotcha’s
jazz Poe-tree & celebrate
Disabled African American Visual Artists
at Harambee’s annual art show called KUUMBA
So get out your number two pencils for your final
on Black Disabled Art History