CUNY Academic Commons

“HERE” by Tiffany Lenoi Jones

I am here.

I am their teacher tiff, t-dollas, booboolanda, ti-ti, ey yo tiff,  tiffany, and Ma!
I am their mother, auntie, big sister
I am their co-conspirator
I am thei […]

And here we are again.
Why do we have to say Black Lives Matter?
We do
because so many things have happened –

so many things have changed,
and yet so many things
seem to remain the same.

We […]

I close my eyes and tell myself that what I feel is not real.

It is weakness
and I cannot be weak.
Not in front of you.

I am peaceful.
I am strong.
That’s what I tell myself.

But there is an e […]

After all is said and done
the hands come down
the chants stop
the mouths close
the signs are put away

Time and morning threaten
to wash us out
we retreat to our homes
before they arrive

We get to go […]

Cultivating Racial Identity in the Age of #BlackLivesMatter

What do you say about race to a 3-year old who speaks of race as though they were shades of crayons in a Crayola box? A child who existed these […]

We been striving for our people to be free
They want change but some can’t see
It’s our time we been waiting to long
Jim Crow know by the end of this song
We feel Obama cause he look like us
They nev […]

Attention Attention
My Brother’s and Sistas
We have a serious epidemic goin on out here
Racism must stop
I’m down with Black Lives Matter on this one
Big shout out to the Beat Minerz, Let’s Go

I can’t […]