There are times when I wonder if we will ever defeat this European experiment called colonialism. I also wonder if we will ever return to those pre-colonial days when our people were nurtured and their humanity embraced. I wonder these things for our children, especially as I serve in schools where their humanity is stripped away and their bodies subjected to colonial violence wrapped in the psychological and emotional underpinnings of low expectations, poor instruction, racist pedagogies, and deficit thinking. During these times of my wondering I ponder education and schooling, and as I ponder, I also imagine education before the colonial experiment. My spirit yearns for those days, those days I see in my imagination, even as I know that they are not imagined at all. I write this poem in the midst of such ponderings, from the depth of my spirit, and as an anti-colonial call for restoration back to the days when education nurtured the very spirit of "My People"! This is for the people, a poem of reflection, in honor of the children: My People!
My people, OUR PEOPLE,
wore skin as rich as the soils upon which their feet walked,
shades of black and brown, imbued with hues of yellow, shaded in tones of red,
a richly diverse people,
speaking a plethora of languages across many diverse lands practicing varied
religions, traditions, and modes of knowing.
Diverse! Yet one!
And the children?
They learned…
learned what they lived and lived their experience!
Values and knowledge, shared through tongue,
tales woven through story,
characters built, spirits developed, accomplishments honored,
ways of being reinforced.
Listening gave way to life,
life gave birth to the people –the people gave birth to humanity
humanity? – it nurtured, preserved, extended
UNTIL
THEY CAME!
They came dressed in sheep’s skin, speaking in forked tongues
pulling wool over eyes
turning truths into lies
humanity disrupted
tongues silenced
bodies broken
lands stolen
tribes torn apart
stories transformed, the people's ways? forever changed!
Characters seized, spirits crushed, accomplishments hidden away
ways of being pushed to the margins! Silenced! Rendered invisible!
And the children?
They learned…
learned what they lived and lived their experience!
white privilege, patriarchy, and colonial oppression shared through schooling
tales woven through institutions reminding them of their worth
or lack thereof
teachers telling tales, tall on whiteness, short on cultural relativity
spirits crushed, souls destroyed, minds enslaved, life taken away,
the people no more - emotional and psychological violence!
Violence birthing ethnic genocide
and ethnic genocide birthing
this thing we call race - RACE
nurtured, preserved, extended, and
the people no more - dehumanized - marginalized – silenced – racialized!
BUT WAIT
the people? We are here! We ARE HERE and we fight back!
the people, WE, the people
wearing skin as rich as the soils upon which our feet walk
shades of black and brown, imbued with hues of yellow, shaded in tones of red,
a richly diverse people,
speaking a plethora of languages across many diverse lands practicing varied
religions and traditions, presenting in diverse sexualities, uniquely abilitied, embracing gendered modes of knowing.
Diverse, yet one!
And the children?
They will learn!
Learn from WE the people! The people are US! Teachers!
We the people will teach and our children? They will learn…
learn what they live and live their experience!
Values and knowledge, we will share through our tongues,
tales we will weave through story,
their characters we'll build, their spirits we will develop, their accomplishments we will honor,
ways of being we will reinforce.
drawing on our rich histories we will remember our legacies
invoking the land we will nurture our connection to spirit
by telling our stories we will honor our elders and pay tribute to the ancestors
proudly and together, we will walk to the center, moving across borders
and refusing to stay on the margins! Not silenced or rendered invisible
We will stand proud and tall, raising our voices and fists in revolution
we will break the chains of mental slavery, rejecting this thing called race
right here, right now, in this space
we will de-center whiteness and re-center US
fear will not stop us, white shame will not cause us to retreat
we will not allow our efforts to be appropriated or coopted
control, white privilege will not take
colorblindness? we will shade with the same rainbow
flag that we wave with pride when heteronormativity shows its ugly head
and its sister hegemony? we will stamp out each and every time
whiteness forgets that it must, and can only be allies, not saviors!
this will not become their story...no peace corp antics will reside here
here in this space, at this time, on this day, for our children, in our communities
we will take back our schools
we will not stay silent, we will raise our voices loudly
We the people – US
We are teachers kissed by the sun and WE WILL TEACH!
and the children?
they will listen.
they will listen and they will learn
learn to listen
Listening will give way to life,
life will give birth to the people –the people will give birth to humanity
humanity will give birth to a reclamation of us
we will become one people again,
nurtured, preserved, extended
for as long as we remember to raise our voice, fight our fight, teach our children, tell our stories
woven and shared through the lives and experiences
Of OUR PEOPLE!
My people, OUR PEOPLE,
wore skin as rich as the soils upon which their feet walked,
shades of black and brown, imbued with hues of yellow, shaded in tones of red,
a richly diverse people,
speaking a plethora of languages across many diverse lands practicing varied
religions, traditions, and modes of knowing.
Diverse! Yet one!
And the children?
They learned…
learned what they lived and lived their experience!
Values and knowledge, shared through tongue,
tales woven through story,
characters built, spirits developed, accomplishments honored,
ways of being reinforced.
Listening gave way to life,
life gave birth to the people –the people gave birth to humanity
humanity? – it nurtured, preserved, extended
UNTIL
THEY CAME!
They came dressed in sheep’s skin, speaking in forked tongues
pulling wool over eyes
turning truths into lies
humanity disrupted
tongues silenced
bodies broken
lands stolen
tribes torn apart
stories transformed, the people's ways? forever changed!
Characters seized, spirits crushed, accomplishments hidden away
ways of being pushed to the margins! Silenced! Rendered invisible!
And the children?
They learned…
learned what they lived and lived their experience!
white privilege, patriarchy, and colonial oppression shared through schooling
tales woven through institutions reminding them of their worth
or lack thereof
teachers telling tales, tall on whiteness, short on cultural relativity
spirits crushed, souls destroyed, minds enslaved, life taken away,
the people no more - emotional and psychological violence!
Violence birthing ethnic genocide
and ethnic genocide birthing
this thing we call race - RACE
nurtured, preserved, extended, and
the people no more - dehumanized - marginalized – silenced – racialized!
BUT WAIT
the people? We are here! We ARE HERE and we fight back!
the people, WE, the people
wearing skin as rich as the soils upon which our feet walk
shades of black and brown, imbued with hues of yellow, shaded in tones of red,
a richly diverse people,
speaking a plethora of languages across many diverse lands practicing varied
religions and traditions, presenting in diverse sexualities, uniquely abilitied, embracing gendered modes of knowing.
Diverse, yet one!
And the children?
They will learn!
Learn from WE the people! The people are US! Teachers!
We the people will teach and our children? They will learn…
learn what they live and live their experience!
Values and knowledge, we will share through our tongues,
tales we will weave through story,
their characters we'll build, their spirits we will develop, their accomplishments we will honor,
ways of being we will reinforce.
drawing on our rich histories we will remember our legacies
invoking the land we will nurture our connection to spirit
by telling our stories we will honor our elders and pay tribute to the ancestors
proudly and together, we will walk to the center, moving across borders
and refusing to stay on the margins! Not silenced or rendered invisible
We will stand proud and tall, raising our voices and fists in revolution
we will break the chains of mental slavery, rejecting this thing called race
right here, right now, in this space
we will de-center whiteness and re-center US
fear will not stop us, white shame will not cause us to retreat
we will not allow our efforts to be appropriated or coopted
control, white privilege will not take
colorblindness? we will shade with the same rainbow
flag that we wave with pride when heteronormativity shows its ugly head
and its sister hegemony? we will stamp out each and every time
whiteness forgets that it must, and can only be allies, not saviors!
this will not become their story...no peace corp antics will reside here
here in this space, at this time, on this day, for our children, in our communities
we will take back our schools
we will not stay silent, we will raise our voices loudly
We the people – US
We are teachers kissed by the sun and WE WILL TEACH!
and the children?
they will listen.
they will listen and they will learn
learn to listen
Listening will give way to life,
life will give birth to the people –the people will give birth to humanity
humanity will give birth to a reclamation of us
we will become one people again,
nurtured, preserved, extended
for as long as we remember to raise our voice, fight our fight, teach our children, tell our stories
woven and shared through the lives and experiences
Of OUR PEOPLE!
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