I once told a therapist, “The only reason I haven’t killed myself is because I’d anger and hurt so many people who love me.” I suspect I was mostly complaining because love was hacking away at my American sense of individualism.
Like most Black folks, the intentional and subliminal external messaging I received growing up were variations of me being unlovable, inadequate, and too much.
FROM OUR NEW SHORT STORY SERIES, 'IMAGINING OTHER WORLDS': "The weather wanted everyone in the state of Ohio to remember Henry Clement Strudel. For weeks plump, gray clouds carried heavy July rain and the sky wailed for justice."
Because doulas as a whole, are not part of the healthcare system, we are the most unbiased birth experts in the labor room.
Are the ones we “love†able to choose death, or is our relationship with them about ownership, possession and obligation? If it is, we are not allowed living or dying as our full selves.
That’s what we do. We reclaim our people after death. We carry them home on our backs and in our hearts.
By Brittany Willis I spent the latter part of my holiday break binge watching Black Mirror, mostly because of the hype surrounding the fourth season, but also because I love all things horror and sci-fi. The show had been sitting…
Phillip B. Williams is a Chicago, Illinois native. He is the author of the book of poems Thief in the Interior(Alice James Books, 2016). He’s also co-authored a book of poems and conversations called Prime (Sibling Rivalry Press). He is…
