My piece on their Piece called "Emmett"

VIDEO WARNING: INTENSE CONTENT. For this post I didn't pick a theme, I just want to post a video with a piece that I enjoyed when I saw it and feel as though it should be shared. It is a piece about Emmett Till. I'm sure everyone knows that story and I'm not here trying to teach a history lesson, so if you don't know -- google is your friend. I like this piece because it used different perspectives and voices. The black males are the misunderstood hurting black teens that represent Emmett Till and the white females represent the white women of the 1950s. The line that stuck with me and I found very touching and brought tears to my eyes was  "didn't his mama warn him not to look in the wrong direction, about looking too confident in our direction-- the only thing his eyes should have flirted with was the ground he was going to be buried in." This line touched me so much because it really portrays how people thought then and how crazy and extreme it was. A line I have found to be true is the line "boys like us are always thought of as polution" because of how society is so bent against men like the ones in this video. "They beat his face 'til -- Till -- even God didn't recognize his own child," this line was very clearly felt by the performers and made it even more meaningful than it would if it was written. That is one main thing I like so much about spoken word is the amount of emotion that is able to be expressed through words. I love how they ended the piece with a positive note about fighting for the boys like Emmett Till and themselves. This video is very real and very intense and I absolutely love it and its message and I think it was needed to be shared.

Source of Inspiration: I Googled Patterns

I actually googled patterns a while ago and found these images that inspired me I just forgot I did it. I literally just searched "patterns" and so many pictures popped up. First I found a picture that I found the design appealing and easy to look at. I then found the template that most closely represented the image because I liked it so much. It had a pattern of circle shapes with other shapes inside of them.

I feel as though my background resembles this in a more abstract way. I then found a pattern that resembled the colors I liked also, but in a pattern for -- not two bottles sitting next to each other. I found a picture that had plenty of blue-green shades in it that I liked a lot and thought complimented each other nicely. 

I love the way all of the shades go together and the resemble the colors I like and would like to have on my blog. I like them because they're cute....I mean look at them!

Source of Inspiration: Forever 21

I know when I was reading the assignment sheet and saw that I needed to have a post about my text inspiration I didn't know what I was going to do! In honor of Black Friday shopping -- which I didn't even do, ugh -- I am using a clothing store website for my text inspiration! I was on the website for Forever 21 and thought about this blog and posts I had to make for it so I looked at the text for the title.

The title is all caps in a simple font and I liked it. My title was a simple font but not all caps, so it inspired me to change it because I like how it looks. I chose the font I did because it's not too weird or childish looking, but professional. I then proceeded to see the text type for the rest of the website. 

The text for the rest of the website is the same font as the title. Mine was not that way, so I was inspired to change it. I think the uniform text look is very professional and easy to look at so I applaud Forever 21 for that. I went into the website more to find how they put together their headers and the text under them. 

The headers bold and the page content in the same font as the title and header. My post titles were bold but the font was different from the rest of the page. It wasn't until I saw this website that I realized my post title being a different font didn't look all that cute so I changed the font to match the rest of the blog text. I think the text on my blog now looks a lot more uniform and professional thanks to the inspiration of the Forever 21 website.

My Piece on her Piece called "Explaining my Depression to my Mother"

The theme I picked this week was the idea of people speaking on the disorders they have. This girl's name is Sabrina Benaim and her video was posted on Button Poetry as well. This poem is about depression and explaining it to people and how difficult that can be. She describes depression as making her a shape-shifter "one day it is as small as a firefly in the palm of a bear, the next day -- the bear." This poem is very different from the other one because this one doesn't make a positive light out of the problem the person speaks about. I like this poem for the artistic view she puts on the idea of depression. I think the two poems this week show my two favorite ways of writing poems about things aren't necessarily positive: 1. shining a positive light on them and 2. making them artistic. I love her passion and her metaphors a lot and I appreciate her strength shown in how she talks about her depression and how she can write about it.

My Piece on his Piece called "OCD"

The theme I picked this week is the idea of people speaking on the disorders they have. This guy's name is Neil Hilborn and is a part of button poetry. He has OCD, which is obsessive compulsive disorder that is when people have obsessive habits. He wrote this poem to explain what it's like to be loved by someone with OCD and what it was like loving someone while having OCD. I like this poem because it explains the idea of OCD and love from a very interesting view. I like how he compares the obsessiveness of doing things over and over again to wanting the relationship to be perfect. He looks at OCD in a more positive light and sees the good side of it when it comes to a relationship. I love when people make the most out of their "problems" and look at them in a more positive way. This reminds me of the guy that had a stutter on America's Got Talent that makes his stand up comedy about his stutter solely. I believe in making the most of whatever situation you're in and I believe that is what he's doing.

Source of Inspiration: VSB

When I first read the requirements for the amount of gadgets we needed in addition to the ones we already had I found myself at a loss for what I could use. I just recently added a search bar to the top of my blog page and another blog was the source of inspiration for that part of my design layout. There is a blog called VSB (Very Smart Brothas) that I read as often as I can, that has been my inspiration for this search bar. I know, reading through the blog, the search bar has been very useful and effective for finding things I like to read about or I've heard about. Their search bar is located at the top of the page, where I placed mine as well -- I mean, that only makes sense! When the search icon is clicked on it looks like this.

Now, this blog is clearly way more extensive than mine is so their search bar is far more needed. But, even after this class is over I plan to continue my blog because I've become so attached to it and then my search bar may come in handy for future followers or people who look at my blog. The search bar comes in handy when looking for posts on specific topics when there are a lot of posts, like on VSB I searched the term "black" and the results were crazy. 

1530 posts! This shows how useful the search bar gadget actually is! This inspired me to add one because it give me hope and positive vibes towards the growth of my blog itself!

Source of Inspiration: Green is my Fave Color

My favorite color is green! I am absolutely obsessed with it. Green has been my favorite color for almost 12 years now. The number of years is so specific because when I was seven my grandma passed away and her favorite color was green so -- as a seven year old -- I thought the best way to remember her was to take up her favorite color as my own (my logic was flawless). I still love green until this day and I literally try to incorporate it in everything that I do. One morning I was brushing my teeth and I realized the green color of the soap on the sink was amazing!

 I mean, look at it! Honestly, if I could find that green in a paint I would paint my room at home that exact color. I would paint it probably with a different shade of green as well. I then realized that the Purell sitting on the other side of the sink was a lighter green and fit with this green. I was like BOOM this is it!

I put the two next to each other and I was obsessed with the combo. I then realized that if I could find a combo of light green and dark green for my blog it would make it so pretty and subtle and soothing. I make posts about some very uncomfortable topics for some people so I am trying to make my blog look as appealing and inviting as possible. I like green and I think it's a nice color so making my blog a combo of two greens was a good I think.

My Piece on their Piece called "Education Meal Plan"

This weeks theme is the idea of idealized history in schools. This video is from Brave New Voices, a program that I have described in a previous post. This poem specifically was performed in Cape Town in 2014. In this piece they speak about the idealized history of Africa that is taught and in books. I find this interesting because it talks about a lot of things that I would have never thought about had it not been for this poem. They talk about how in America the school systems teach so much about America but not so much about other places. In the school systems the children, no matter their background, are taught everything deemed relevant about America but nothing about their own histories, These three portray that idea by saying "we know everything there is to know about you, but what do you know about us?" I find that interesting because it is very true, we spend our lives learning about ourselves until we get the opportunity to chose otherwise which is ridiculous because we should more than just about America. A line that stuck with me from this poem in particular is when they said "tell me America, when did you last die for education?"

My Piece on his Piece called "What I Wasn't Taught in School"

This week the theme I chose was idealized black history in schools. I feel very attached to this topic because this has been something I've thought about a lot lately. What I have mainly thought about is the idea of children learning more about Martin Luther King Jr.than Malcolm X. The reasoning I came up with behind that is that maybe schools don't want to teach children about a violent man but then I saw this video and realize there are so many black people we never learned about in school. This video gets this point across so clearly and I love it. This piece was posted a year ago by Word on the Curb and is by a student who is unsatisfied with his education during black history month. I feel like this video is worth watching because it taught me something. I really started to listen and tune in and know I was going to enjoy the piece when he said "this is why I can't take black history month seriously, man" because I feel the same exact way. Black history month, my entire life has just been filled with repetitive lectures about the same thing that the schooling system wants us to know, nothing new. Actually in this piece he said something that I have said before: "actually miss, it's (the curriculum) designed to teach us what to think not how to think." I think that is deep even on a level more expansive than black history month because in any subject they teach you what they want you to know -- or only what they've been taught to teach you. He goes on about questioning the teacher and seeing if she even knows all of the things that he does. He makes a very good point in this "we need to open our minds, but how can we be taught to see if the blind lead the blind?" I love this piece and it speaks to a lot of things I personally think about a lot, it is well worth the listen.

My Piece on her Piece called "How to Survive Being a Black Girl"

This week's theme is black girls. This video was posted on December 2, 2014 by the Button Poetry channel on Youtube. Button poetry is a channel/organization that has a system to promote and make money for spoken word artists. They have a very diverse base of artists but they have great messages and it allows them to reach a larger audience. This specific artist has a large voice and a great message that I absolutely love. She talks about ten things that black girls may encounter in every day life and how to overcome them, The main piece that stuck with me through this piece was the idea of not being considered "black enough" because I have ran into that same thing. I have had people tell me I'm not black enough to be with them or hang out with them and I appreciated the fact that she spoke to that issue because it is a very big one that a lot of black girls face. The last line was too perfect in my opinion and was a perfect way to end the poem, "always remember that when you are a black girl, every day that you exist in your body without apologizing-- is activism".

My Piece on her Piece called "10 Learned Behaviors of a Black Girl"

I have decided this week my theme is black girls. This piece is by Andie Berry, a college student at the time at least. This video was published March 22, 2014 by the WashUSlam page on Youtube. She performed this poem in the first round of WU-Slam's 14th annual poetry slam for college unions. This particular one was in Boulder, Colorado. I feel for this poem a lot because..well...I'm a black girl and I write just like she does so I can understand what she's saying. She talks about how black girls need to learn to take articulate as a compliment because people don't believe we can be. I know growing up I always got the "you talk white" line because people expected me to not be able to speak only because I was black. Also, something I can definitely relate to that makes me so angry is the idea of people always saying "smile you look so angry". She says that even if she stitched a permanent smile on her face people would still ask if she was angry or what's wrong all the time which I can relate to because even when I smile people find something wrong to ask about. Her tenth thing is that girls should apologize when writing poems abut race which I find interesting because I know when I write race poems I always feel bad about them or like I need to apologize for being real when in actuality I don't. I love this poem because I can relate to it a lot.

My Piece on their Piece called "Ambiguous"

This theme is the idea of being bi-racial, or looking bi-racial. These two girls are named Becca Khalil and Nayo Jones and they were part of a movement called "Black in America: Who is Black?" in 2012. I will probably use more videos from people in the movement later down the line. These girls talk about getting the question of "what are you?" when people meet them. I can relate to their reaction of wanting to say human so much because I get that question a lot. I feel like they really portray the ignorance of some people and how they try to figure out what race or races some people are. They talked about the idea of people saying "that's it?" when they found out what race they are which I can also relate to. I like how they describe the different features they have and how it's hard for other people to figure out their race, even though it isn't for them to figure out. "I am more than my race, I am more than my color, so the next time you feel tempted to ask...don't", I absolutely love this line and can identify with it a lot. This has got to be my new favorite video and spoken word piece.

My Piece on her Piece called "Bi-Racial Hair"

This theme is the idea of being bi-racial, in this case specifically black and white. This artist is Zora Howard from the group The Strivers Row which I spoke about before. She became a part of The Strivers Row when she was a student at Yale, this video was prior to that. This video talks about her hair as a result of her being bi-racial and the struggles she has had because of it. I can relate because, even though I am not bi-racial like she is, I have different types of hair on my head. I can relate when she talks about having smooth edges and naps in other places because my hair is just like that. I found this piece so amusing and entertaining because I could say "I feel you girl" to a lot of the things she was saying. I know bi-racial girls who haven't embraced their hair and find it hard to so I love the fact that she is so confident about it. She also is extremely real with how her hair got the way it is and I love it.

My Piece on her Piece called "#BeQueens"

                                         


The theme this week is insecurities/the idea of getting rid of them or not having them. This piece is about how to not be insecure and to be confident in who you are. Sophia Thakur is a young poet who is performs her poems on YouTube. Her poems are described as something people can relate to and emotional, which I can agree with. This poem specifically is about how women need to embrace themselves and do whatever it is that makes them feel comfortable. The line that stuck with me the best is when she said just because she wears make-up and weave doesn't mean she hates herself because that is a common belief. People think girls who wear make-up are insecure and don't find themselves attractive without it, and although that may be the case with some girls it's not the case with all. She stressing that girls need to be confident in who they are and "be queens" because everyone is royalty. I love this poem because it is uplifting females instead of tearing them down.

My Piece on their Piece called "Let Me See Your Phone"

The theme this week is the idea of insecurities/how to get rid of them. This poem is more about insecurities and the idea of insecurities in relationships being fueled by technology and social media in this generation. This poem was performed at a Brave New Voices festival in 2014. Brave New Voices is an annual festival for youths around the world who write and perform spoken word pieces. These festivals are held in different places every year, this particular semi-final was in D.C. This piece is about how teenagers in relationships have insecurities that are shown through the lack of trust with their significant other and their technologies -- hence, "let me see your phone". They talk about social networks as well and how people will go to no end to find people they think their significant other is talking to or likes. What I found interesting was them talking about how they thought it was official between them because of Instagram posts and bios -- which obviously aren't the things to depend on for trust, I like this piece because I have personally witnessed insecure people do things like this and make big deals out of nothing on social media. This shows insecurities because like they said at the end "you don't need my password to unlock my trust". There should be trust in a relationship without a "let me see your phone" type attitude, to me at least.

My Piece on her Piece called "If I Should Have a Daughter"

This week my theme was the idea of future children or daughters. Sarah Kay is a big inspiration of mine because she does a lot of things I like to do. She is from New York and is considered to be a spoken word poetry teacher along with being a filmmaker and a photographer. In my near future I would like to do all of the things like she does. This poem is about all of the things she will tell her future daughter and how she will raise her. She starts off the poem by saying her daughter will call her point B so she knows that she can always find her. She talks about hows she will tell her daughter how real life is and not tell her it's all rainbows and butterflies and that reminds me of the way I plan to raise my children. I think this poem is so realistic and honest and coming from a woman I find it a lot easier to relate to the things she is saying (I have found that guys find it easier to relate to what Andrew Tyree is saying). My favorite line of this poem is when she says "remember your mama is a worrier and your papa is a warrior and you are the girl with small hands and big eyes who never stops asking for more" because it sounds so true and ideal. From this poem she seems like she will make a great mother and will lover her daughter and raise her so well.

My Piece on his Piece called "Dream Child" A.K.A "To My Unborn Daughter"

Hey! The theme I picked this week is the idea of future kids, well future daughters specifically. I heard this piece for the first time a little over a year and a half ago during my senior year and I absolutely fell in love with it. Andrew Tyree is part of a group called Fiveology that performs as their own individual artists but also as a group. I will probably soon be using many Fiveology pieces because I like them as a group as well. Their group was formed in 2012 and ever since then they have been touring and performing for and with many people. Andrew Tyree himself is a poetry slam champion and an actor, I found him youtube while watching episodes of Lexus Verses and Flow. During spoken word my senior year, they made us watch this video with his piece Dream Child and after that I went to show every I knew whether they cared or not. In this piece he talks about his future daughter being a princess and how much he loves her already. He says plenty of insightful things about children and how they function like when he says, "that's when I realized why parents don't understand their children til they're two, because for the first two years they have private secret conversations with God then he releases them to talk to you". That line specifically stuck with me because it reminds me of the way I think and I have thought a lot about why babies aren't able to talk for the first at most two years of their lives. I like how he talks about how protective he's going to be and how much he is going to look after her. He has great metaphors speaking on how he believes he is meant to be a father to a little girl so he can do right by her and her mother. His main motivation of being a great dad, as he said, is meeting woman who have been ruined by not having one. I can relate to that for the simple fact that I know a lot of women who grew up without a father that have trust issues (Drake v.) and who are just hurt by it. This poem shows how great of a dad he wants to be and how much he wants to love and care for his "dream child".

My Piece on her Piece called "Dark Black"

This week my theme is the idea of taking away "blackness" to be accepted. This piece is by Indigo Williams who is a woman who educates by spoken word. This is my first time seeing this video although it was posted on September 15, 2013. This video was posted by "Ted Talks", which is a channel that posts educational and personal videos with occasional spoken word artist. This video in particular is about her personal experience with having darker skin. She speaks on the efforts she took towards trying to be lighter because a black woman with lighter skin told her she should be. This piece speaks on the idea of how black people see different shades of black as either attractive or unattractive. I can relate to this but not a level as extreme as she speaks of it on. She speaks about actually attempting to change her skin color, I've just experienced people talking about other people not being attractive because they're darker. I have also known people to attempt similar things to what she speaks of because of bullying and wanting to be accepted. I really like this poem because it speaks truth to how society really is. It has inspired me to continue to be comfortable with the way my skin is.

My Piece on their Piece called "To the Girl in My Jazz Class"

This week the theme I picked the idea of trying to take away one's "blackness" to be accepted. I found this video titled: Aziza Barnes and Safia Elhillo- "To The Girl In My Jazz Class". This video is from a YouTube channel that I have grown to love by the group called The Strivers Row. The Strivers Row is a group of spoken word artists that originally hailed from Yale that travel, perform, make, and post videos of their different performances in different places. This video was just posted September 4, 2015 so it is fairly new and I have only watched it once but it spoke to me personally that is why I picked it, This piece talks about their inability to understand why people claim to be color blind but constantly make a big deal when black people put their name on something and "make it black", it also talks about how people look down on things if they are considered "black art". The idea of making oneself "less black" so their art can be accepted is also discussed. I found this interesting because of the truth behind it and because of how much I can relate to it as an artist. As a spoken word artist, I write a lot of things about race and experiences as a black girl/person so my poems could be labeled as "black art" and talked about as such. When topics such as race are talked about a lot of the time they try to censor them or only show them to certain audiences so the line "why are you trying to wash all the color out of this story" really stuck with me. That line basically means that people are trying to take all of the black aspects out of black art that they had no part in making to make it more comfortable for them so they can accept it. I really appreciate and respect this poem a lot and it has motivated me to continue to write about the things I write about.

This Is My Blog.....

When I'm feeling down, I usually listen to spoken word videos. When I'm feeling happy, I usually listen to spoken word videos. When I'm feeling angry, I usually listen to spoken word videos. Now that I'm thinking about it...I listen to spoken word videos a lot. I love them and in this blog I'm going to talk about two videos or poems I find every week that I really like. I am going to stick to poems that have common themes for each week, the themes may repeat over the weeks but in one week the two poems will have the same theme. I am so passionate about spoken word that I'm super duper hyped to write this blog for this class, hope you're super duper hyped to read it! :)