5 20 232 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Suzanne Ross Video Memoirs Description An account of the resource Pending Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Ross, Suzanne Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1930s–2022 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Wood, Nat Language A language of the resource English Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context AV-ROSS Moving Image A series of visual representations imparting an impression of motion when shown in succession. Examples include animations, movies, television programs, videos, zoetropes, or visual output from a simulation. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data MP4 Duration Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.) 00:58:10 Media Embedded media file for non-oral history recorded sound and moving images. <br /><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kgqtGgBl9dg" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 5-17. Friends, Family, Comrades: Kaila Bule Subject The topic of the resource Ross, Suzanne Description An account of the resource In this recording, part of a larger video memoir project, lifetime activist and educator Suzanne Ross gives space for Kaila Bule to speak. From Suzanne: "Friend and comrade, met through the late Fior Cruz who intentionally arranged for us to meet. Kaila is a community organizer, a revolutionary artist, an Afro-Dominican who dances, sings, drums, and creates murals with round-the clock action which includes her love for children." Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Ross, Suzanne Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2022 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Wood, Nat Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource You can, without permission, copy, modify, distribute, display, or perform the Item, for non-commercial uses. For any other permissible uses, please review the terms and conditions with the organization that has made the Item available. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource MP4 Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Video memoir Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context AV-ROSS.079 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Suzanne Ross Video Memoirs Description An account of the resource Pending Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Ross, Suzanne Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1930s–2022 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Wood, Nat Language A language of the resource English Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context AV-ROSS Moving Image A series of visual representations imparting an impression of motion when shown in succession. Examples include animations, movies, television programs, videos, zoetropes, or visual output from a simulation. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data MP4 Duration Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.) 01:29:02 Media Embedded media file for non-oral history recorded sound and moving images. <br /><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dArVXt_9G94" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 5-18. Friends, Family, Comrades: Julio Pabón Subject The topic of the resource Ross, Suzanne Description An account of the resource In this recording, part of a larger video memoir project, lifetime activist and educator Suzanne Ross gives space for Julio Pabón to speak. From Suzanne: "Former student at Lehman College, community organizer in the Bronx, hosted Fidel Castro’s visit to The Bronx." Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Ross, Suzanne Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2022 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Wood, Nat Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource You can, without permission, copy, modify, distribute, display, or perform the Item, for non-commercial uses. For any other permissible uses, please review the terms and conditions with the organization that has made the Item available. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource MP4 Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Video memoir Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context AV-ROSS.080 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Suzanne Ross Video Memoirs Description An account of the resource Pending Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Ross, Suzanne Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1930s–2022 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Wood, Nat Language A language of the resource English Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context AV-ROSS Moving Image A series of visual representations imparting an impression of motion when shown in succession. Examples include animations, movies, television programs, videos, zoetropes, or visual output from a simulation. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data MP4 Duration Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.) 00:31:14 Media Embedded media file for non-oral history recorded sound and moving images. <br /><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xCAAtQoLlnk" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 5-19. Friends, Family, Comrades: Clara's Room Subject The topic of the resource Ross, Suzanne Description An account of the resource In this recording, part of a larger video memoir project, lifetime activist and educator Suzanne Ross reminisces about her career as a political activist in the former room of her daughter Clara. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Ross, Suzanne Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2022 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Wood, Nat Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource You can, without permission, copy, modify, distribute, display, or perform the Item, for non-commercial uses. For any other permissible uses, please review the terms and conditions with the organization that has made the Item available. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource MP4 Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Video memoir Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context AV-ROSS.081 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Suzanne Ross Video Memoirs Description An account of the resource Pending Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Ross, Suzanne Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1930s–2022 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Wood, Nat Language A language of the resource English Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context AV-ROSS Moving Image A series of visual representations imparting an impression of motion when shown in succession. Examples include animations, movies, television programs, videos, zoetropes, or visual output from a simulation. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data MP4 Duration Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.) 00:52:59 Media Embedded media file for non-oral history recorded sound and moving images. <br /><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JYd99v-E7R4" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 5-20. Friends, Family, Comrades: Clara Ross-Spiegel, Part 1 Subject The topic of the resource Ross, Suzanne Description An account of the resource In this recording, part of a larger video memoir project, lifetime activist and educator Suzanne Ross gives space for her daughter Clara Ross-Spiegel to speak. From Suzanne: "Daughter of Suzanne Ross speaking about childhood." Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Ross, Suzanne Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2022 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Wood, Nat Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource You can, without permission, copy, modify, distribute, display, or perform the Item, for non-commercial uses. For any other permissible uses, please review the terms and conditions with the organization that has made the Item available. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource MP4 Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Video memoir Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context AV-ROSS.082 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Suzanne Ross Video Memoirs Description An account of the resource Pending Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Ross, Suzanne Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1930s–2022 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Wood, Nat Language A language of the resource English Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context AV-ROSS Moving Image A series of visual representations imparting an impression of motion when shown in succession. Examples include animations, movies, television programs, videos, zoetropes, or visual output from a simulation. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data MP4 Duration Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.) 00:12:10 Media Embedded media file for non-oral history recorded sound and moving images. <br /><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/x4F8Zog2S44" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 5-21. Friends, Family, Comrades: Clara Ross-Spiegel, Part 2 Subject The topic of the resource Ross, Suzanne Description An account of the resource In this recording, part of a larger video memoir project, lifetime activist and educator Suzanne Ross gives space for her daughter Clara Ross-Spiegel to speak. From Suzanne: "Daughter of Suzanne Ross speaking about childhood." Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Ross, Suzanne Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2022 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Wood, Nat Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource You can, without permission, copy, modify, distribute, display, or perform the Item, for non-commercial uses. For any other permissible uses, please review the terms and conditions with the organization that has made the Item available. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource MP4 Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Video memoir Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context AV-ROSS.083 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Suzanne Ross Video Memoirs Description An account of the resource Pending Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Ross, Suzanne Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1930s–2022 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Wood, Nat Language A language of the resource English Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context AV-ROSS Moving Image A series of visual representations imparting an impression of motion when shown in succession. Examples include animations, movies, television programs, videos, zoetropes, or visual output from a simulation. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data MP4 Duration Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.) 00:42:38 Media Embedded media file for non-oral history recorded sound and moving images. <br /><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/u2orgwqzfJk" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 5-22. Friends, Family, Comrades: Isabelle Subject The topic of the resource Ross, Suzanne Description An account of the resource In this recording, part of a larger video memoir project, lifetime activist and educator Suzanne Ross gives space for her granddaughter Isabelle to speak. From Suzanne: "Granddaughter of Suzanne Ross speaking about education and life with family." Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Ross, Suzanne Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2022 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Wood, Nat Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource You can, without permission, copy, modify, distribute, display, or perform the Item, for non-commercial uses. For any other permissible uses, please review the terms and conditions with the organization that has made the Item available. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource MP4 Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Video memoir Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context AV-ROSS.084 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Suzanne Ross Video Memoirs Description An account of the resource Pending Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Ross, Suzanne Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1930s–2022 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Wood, Nat Language A language of the resource English Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context AV-ROSS Moving Image A series of visual representations imparting an impression of motion when shown in succession. Examples include animations, movies, television programs, videos, zoetropes, or visual output from a simulation. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data MP4 Duration Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.) 00:03:11 Media Embedded media file for non-oral history recorded sound and moving images. <br /><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WdRapc9mUXw" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 5-23. Friends, Family, Comrades: Bronx, Part 1 Subject The topic of the resource Ross, Suzanne Description An account of the resource In this recording, part of a larger video memoir project, lifetime activist and educator Suzanne Ross gives space for her grandson Bronx to speak. From Suzanne: "Grandson of Suzanne Ross, funny moments with Bronx and Mema." Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Ross, Suzanne Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2022 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Wood, Nat Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource You can, without permission, copy, modify, distribute, display, or perform the Item, for non-commercial uses. For any other permissible uses, please review the terms and conditions with the organization that has made the Item available. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource MP4 Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Video memoir Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context AV-ROSS.085 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Suzanne Ross Video Memoirs Description An account of the resource Pending Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Ross, Suzanne Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1930s–2022 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Wood, Nat Language A language of the resource English Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context AV-ROSS Moving Image A series of visual representations imparting an impression of motion when shown in succession. Examples include animations, movies, television programs, videos, zoetropes, or visual output from a simulation. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data MP4 Duration Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.) 00:00:32 Media Embedded media file for non-oral history recorded sound and moving images. <br /><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ocEIDNtz9Fc" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 5-24. Friends, Family, Comrades: Bronx, Part 2 Subject The topic of the resource Ross, Suzanne Description An account of the resource In this recording, part of a larger video memoir project, lifetime activist and educator Suzanne Ross gives space for her grandson Bronx to speak. From Suzanne: "Grandson of Suzanne Ross, funny moments with Bronx and Mema." Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Ross, Suzanne Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2022 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Wood, Nat Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource You can, without permission, copy, modify, distribute, display, or perform the Item, for non-commercial uses. For any other permissible uses, please review the terms and conditions with the organization that has made the Item available. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource MP4 Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Video memoir Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context AV-ROSS.086 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Suzanne Ross Video Memoirs Description An account of the resource Pending Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Ross, Suzanne Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1930s–2022 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Wood, Nat Language A language of the resource English Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context AV-ROSS Moving Image A series of visual representations imparting an impression of motion when shown in succession. Examples include animations, movies, television programs, videos, zoetropes, or visual output from a simulation. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data MP4 Duration Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.) 00:52:54 Media Embedded media file for non-oral history recorded sound and moving images. <br /><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/daFR7YblIbM?si=3ByVq3yNwJ3Jqx--" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 6-01. Judaism and Anti-Zionism: Palestine, Kibbutz, and the "New" Jew Description An account of the resource In this recording, part of a larger video memoir, Suzanne Ross traces her profound Jewish identity, shaped by her family’s flight from Nazi-occupied Belgium during WWII. As a child refugee across Europe, North Africa, and Palestine, she learned early that being Jewish meant survival amid persecution. Her family’s year in Palestine (before the creation of the State of Israel in 1948) left lasting impressions: while she cherished reunions with relatives, she critiques the left-wing kibbutz’s secular Zionism, which mocked religious traditions and marginalized diaspora Jews like her family. Suzanne recalls visceral discomfort when classmates scorned elderly Jews or scrawled “outsiders leave” on a blackboard—early signs of Zionism’s exclusionary undercurrents. Though the kibbutz idealized a “new Jewish” identity tied to Hebrew and labor, Suzanne’s parents saw Palestine only as temporary refuge. Her father, a polyglot and anti-Nazi operative, leveraged his work with Allied intelligence to secure passage to the U.S.—their ultimate dream of stability. Suzanne’s memoirs highlight how Zionism’s post-Holocaust appeal grew, contrasting with pre-war Jewish diversity (most Jews weren’t Zionists). She honors Jewish resistance fighters like Warsaw Ghetto’s Mordechai Anielewicz, rejecting Zionist narratives that erased diaspora resilience. Her reflections weave personal trauma with sharp ideological critique, revealing how kibbutz life’s contradictions—collective ideals paired with intolerance—shaped what would grow in her adult years to a full-blown anti-Zionism. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Ross, Suzanne Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2022 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Wood, Nat Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource You can, without permission, copy, modify, distribute, display, or perform the Item, for non-commercial uses. For any other permissible uses, please review the terms and conditions with the organization that has made the Item available. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource MP4 Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Video memoir Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context AV-ROSS.087 Holocaust Israel kibbutz Mordechai Anielewicz Palestine Róza Robota Suzanne Ross Zionism Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Suzanne Ross Video Memoirs Description An account of the resource Pending Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Ross, Suzanne Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1930s–2022 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Wood, Nat Language A language of the resource English Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context AV-ROSS Moving Image A series of visual representations imparting an impression of motion when shown in succession. Examples include animations, movies, television programs, videos, zoetropes, or visual output from a simulation. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data MP4 Duration Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.) 00:10:56 Media Embedded media file for non-oral history recorded sound and moving images. <br /><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/H5dDXGUc_Ks?si=45P0_JyKbqSP4rqs" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 6-02. Judaism and Anti-Zionism: Palestine and the Kibbutz Description An account of the resource In this recording, part of a larger video memoir project, lifetime activist and educator Suzanne Ross recalls her early experience of being exposed to Zionism in Palestine on the kibbutz in the 1940s, before the creation of the state of Israel. Suzanne recalls that a constituent part of early Zionism was the creation of the "sabra," a tough-guy Jewish persona set up in supposed contrast to Jews who went "willingly" to the Holocaust. Suzanne relates that she learned later about Jews' tremendous resistance to the Holocaust, something she did not learn on the kibbutz in Palestine. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Ross, Suzanne Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2022 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Wood, Nat Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource You can, without permission, copy, modify, distribute, display, or perform the Item, for non-commercial uses. For any other permissible uses, please review the terms and conditions with the organization that has made the Item available. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource MP4 Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Video memoir Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context AV-ROSS.088 Holocaust Israel Palestine sabra Suzanne Ross Zionism Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Suzanne Ross Video Memoirs Description An account of the resource Pending Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Ross, Suzanne Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1930s–2022 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Wood, Nat Language A language of the resource English Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context AV-ROSS Moving Image A series of visual representations imparting an impression of motion when shown in succession. Examples include animations, movies, television programs, videos, zoetropes, or visual output from a simulation. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data MP4 Duration Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.) 00:26:40 Media Embedded media file for non-oral history recorded sound and moving images. <br /><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Aau_IPLVXeE" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 6-03. Judaism and Anti-Zionism: Eagerness to Leave Palestine Subject The topic of the resource Ross, Suzanne Description An account of the resource In this recording, part of a larger video memoir project, lifetime activist and educator Suzanne Ross reflects on her family's eagerness to leave Palestine in 1945—they had no attachment to the "Holy Land" and were only to happy to leave. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Ross, Suzanne Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2022 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Wood, Nat Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource You can, without permission, copy, modify, distribute, display, or perform the Item, for non-commercial uses. For any other permissible uses, please review the terms and conditions with the organization that has made the Item available. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource MP4 Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Video memoir Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context AV-ROSS.089 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Suzanne Ross Video Memoirs Description An account of the resource Pending Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Ross, Suzanne Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1930s–2022 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Wood, Nat Language A language of the resource English Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context AV-ROSS Moving Image A series of visual representations imparting an impression of motion when shown in succession. Examples include animations, movies, television programs, videos, zoetropes, or visual output from a simulation. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data MP4 Duration Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.) 00:10:28 Media Embedded media file for non-oral history recorded sound and moving images. <br /><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/c7czz4h3zu8" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 6-04. Judaism and Anti-Zionism: Family's Lack of Awareness Subject The topic of the resource Ross, Suzanne Description An account of the resource In this recording, part of a larger video memoir project, lifetime activist and educator Suzanne Ross reflects on her wider family's lack of awareness of the realities of Zionism. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Ross, Suzanne Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2022 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Wood, Nat Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource You can, without permission, copy, modify, distribute, display, or perform the Item, for non-commercial uses. For any other permissible uses, please review the terms and conditions with the organization that has made the Item available. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource MP4 Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Video memoir Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context AV-ROSS.090 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Suzanne Ross Video Memoirs Description An account of the resource Pending Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Ross, Suzanne Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1930s–2022 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Wood, Nat Language A language of the resource English Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context AV-ROSS Moving Image A series of visual representations imparting an impression of motion when shown in succession. Examples include animations, movies, television programs, videos, zoetropes, or visual output from a simulation. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data MP4 Duration Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.) 00:04:05 Media Embedded media file for non-oral history recorded sound and moving images. <br /><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fcF7d7uZIfc" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 6-05. Judaism and Anti-Zionism: Speech for Jesse Jackson at DNC, Part 1 Subject The topic of the resource Ross, Suzanne Description An account of the resource In this CSPAN recording, part of a larger video memoir project, lifetime activist and educator Suzanne Ross is speaking in support of the candidacy for Jesse Jackson at the Democratic National Convention, touching on her experience as a Jewish woman opposed to Zionism and supportive of Black liberation struggles. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Ross, Suzanne Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1984 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Wood, Nat Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource You can, without permission, copy, modify, distribute, display, or perform the Item, for non-commercial uses. For any other permissible uses, please review the terms and conditions with the organization that has made the Item available. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource MP4 Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Video memoir Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context AV-ROSS.091 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Suzanne Ross Video Memoirs Description An account of the resource Pending Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Ross, Suzanne Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1930s–2022 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Wood, Nat Language A language of the resource English Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context AV-ROSS Moving Image A series of visual representations imparting an impression of motion when shown in succession. Examples include animations, movies, television programs, videos, zoetropes, or visual output from a simulation. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data MP4 Duration Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.) 00:03:05 Media Embedded media file for non-oral history recorded sound and moving images. <br /><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/q-DaVrx7MSk" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 6-06. Judaism and Anti-Zionism: Speech for Jesse Jackson at DNC, Part 2 Subject The topic of the resource Ross, Suzanne Description An account of the resource In this CSPAN recording, part of a larger video memoir project, lifetime activist and educator Suzanne Ross is speaking in support of the candidacy for Jesse Jackson at the Democratic National Convention, touching on her experience as a Jewish woman opposed to Zionism and supportive of Black liberation struggles. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Ross, Suzanne Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1984 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Wood, Nat Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource You can, without permission, copy, modify, distribute, display, or perform the Item, for non-commercial uses. For any other permissible uses, please review the terms and conditions with the organization that has made the Item available. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource MP4 Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Video memoir Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context AV-ROSS.092 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Suzanne Ross Video Memoirs Description An account of the resource Pending Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Ross, Suzanne Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1930s–2022 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Wood, Nat Language A language of the resource English Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context AV-ROSS Moving Image A series of visual representations imparting an impression of motion when shown in succession. Examples include animations, movies, television programs, videos, zoetropes, or visual output from a simulation. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data MP4 Duration Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.) 00:55:22 Media Embedded media file for non-oral history recorded sound and moving images. <br /><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/joEJIeDDlmc" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 6-07. Judaism and Anti-Zionism: On Becoming Anti-Zionist Subject The topic of the resource Ross, Suzanne Description An account of the resource In this WBAI intreview, part of a larger video memoir project, lifetime activist and educator Suzanne Ross appears on "Beyond the Pale" to speak about her journey becoming an anti-Zionist. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Ross, Suzanne Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2024 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource You can, without permission, copy, modify, distribute, display, or perform the Item, for non-commercial uses. For any other permissible uses, please review the terms and conditions with the organization that has made the Item available. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource MP4 Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Radio broadcast Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context AV-ROSS.093 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Beyond the Pale Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available WBAI https://digital.bronxhistoricalsociety.org/files/original/4fcb6892ea735066465a5a6bb21ac39a.pdf 618deb5de3a95a86af8e885ca3147f2a PDF Text Text Zionism is not Judaism: It is not antiSemitic to reject Zionism The following is based on a statement originally written for a protest at Rep. Adriano Espaillat’s office In Washington Heights, New York City, because he refused to join the worldwide call for a ceasefire in Gaza. Since then, Espaillat has plastered the windows of his office with pictures of Israeli hostages seized by Hamas. The problem is not in calling for the release of the Israeli captives, but it is outrageous to have not even one picture of a Palestinian when over 20,000 Suzanne Ross. SLL photo: Lallan Schoenstein Palestinians, including 8,000 children, have been massacred in Gaza in the past two and a half months. Does only Israeli life matter in the face of a genocidal war on Palestinians? What recognition is there by the congressman of this district of the value of Palestinian life? I have been living in Washington Heights, in particular in Representative Espaillat’s district, for over 40 years. I feel very much like part of the community and have raised my family here as both a mother and grandmother. The Representative’s racism, although he is a Dominican living in a multi-ethnic community, is unacceptable. We must distinguish between Zionism and Judaism: Zionism is a fundamentally racist ideology I was born before World War II in Nazi Europe to religious Jewish parents in Belgium who had come from Germany and Poland. We were part of a large extended family. Once the Nazi occupation took hold in Belgium, most of our family tried to escape. My nuclear family traveled all over Europe and North Africa for a year before we found a haven in Mozambique. All four of us survived, but 2/3 of my extended family, aunts, uncles, and cousins, including six of my mother’s siblings, perished both in �Poland and Belgium in the ghettos and concentration camps. Throughout my growing up, wherever we were, I was always very conscious of being Jewish. Our home was a traditional Jewish home, and my parents always sought out other Jewish families. But we were not Zionists. Even in the one year we spent in Palestine from 1944 to 1945, I don’t think I ever heard my parents speak about us being in the Holy Land. In fact, they chose to leave Palestine as soon as we gained entry into the U.S. It was not until the State of Israel was established in 1948 that I became conscious of Zionism in our home, in our synagogue, and in the parochial school, a Yeshiva, that my brother and I attended. Zionism became a part of our life for the first time. I recently found a composition I wrote in 1949 when I was in the 7th grade, that talked about how Israel was a small and weak country, surrounded by many hostile Arab nations, which it miraculously defeated. We became part of the growing Zionist consciousness and community in New York. I did not understand the supposed irrational hostility of the Arab nations toward Israel. But by the 1967 Arab-Israel War, I could see that Israel was no longer this small, weak country that it always claimed to be. There was even an Israeli song we all sang: “Our country, our tiny country.” Israel had defeated the Arab nations and was hailed for its military prowess. This 1967 war had hugely increased Israel’s size, now occupying land that had not been part of its original boundaries as established by the 1947 US-Great Britain-backed UN Partition Plan, which had already greatly favored the Zionists and had not included the indigenous people in its development. I began to seriously question the narrative I had been hearing since 1948. Israel was not that “tiny,” and the image of an innocent bystander was less and less credible, with the national hero of Israel, Moshe Dayan, honored around the world for his military feats and projected as a macho Israeli leader. The myths were being chipped, eventually cracked, and finally, I seriously questioned what I had been learning as dogma. I became a skeptic about Zionism. After college, I checked out the autobiography of the founder of Zionism, Theodore �Herzl. I was horrified by his Eurocentric and self-hating worldview as a Jew. Yet many years later, in 1975, I was very upset when the UN General Assembly passed a resolution that Zionism was racism. What? Jews were so much, by definition, seen as victims of anti-Semitism, certainly a form of racism. How could Zionism, espoused as an ideology and vision by Jews, be considered racist? Yet, deep down, I knew there was something to this. As I became more politically active in opposing the War in Vietnam and learned about unjust occupations, I came to seriously question the U.S. and Israeli narrative about the Zionists v. the Palestinians. Perhaps most dramatic was the map of Palestine showing a very diminished Arab section and a larger and larger Jewish section, totally changing even the unfair partition imposed by the UN. After the Oslo Accords in the 1980s and 1990s, I learned about the separate roads for Israelis v the Palestinians in Israel and the torturous checkpoints for Palestinians. I more and more recognized the Apartheid nature of Israel. I learned that I (along with millions of others, Jews and non-Jews) had been lied to about the history of Zionism and the creation of the state with the backing of the British and U.S. Empires. In the past decade, I was further outraged by what I learned about the original intentions of the Zionist leaders to rely on ethnic cleansing as “necessary” to displace the Palestinians and secure the State of Israel and the boundaries the Zionist movement sought. My family’s experience and devastation in the Nazi Holocaust taught me the vow of NEVER AGAIN FOR OUR PEOPLE AND ALL PEOPLES. The more I learned about the reality of the Zionist vision and its practice, the more alienated I became from Zionism. I am today an anti-Zionist and yet remain very much Jewish and tied to the culture, religion, and history. It is not anti-Semitic to oppose Zionism. A distinction is finally being made between Judaism and Zionism. Judaism is not the same as Zionism. One can reject Zionism, a product of the late 1800s, and still love or accept Judaism (even with its contradictions). In 1898, Herzl announced his vision of Zionism as a movement to settle Jews in the “empty” land of Palestine. This was a white supremacist agenda and not only excluded non-Jews, including the indigenous people, but also brown and black Jews. Differentiating between Zionism and Judaism has made it possible to speak out against Israel and still remain Jewish. It has made �the charge of anti-Semitism levied against anyone opposing Israel or Zionist ideology a ridiculous charge. Tens of thousands of Jews and non-Jews are now able to differentiate between Zionism and Judaism. That differentiation has had a profound impact on the growing powerful and leading Jewish opposition to the ongoing genocidal war against Palestine. In these past two months, a major disruption of travel at New York’s Grand Central Station on a Friday afternoon rush hour, the takeover of the Statue of Liberty, the takeover of the Congressional Rotunda in Washington, and so on are actions initiated by Jews against the Zionist agenda in Gaza and all of Palestine. A liberated Left Jewish voice, a long-silenced one, is finally being heard again. I would never have predicted even a year ago such a huge Jewish rebellion against Zionism, against the horrors of Israel with its racist and fascist leadership, and its right-wing popular support. So many of us were wrongly convinced by the U.S. and Israeli propaganda (“Hasbara”) that the only answer to the Nazi Holocaust was a Jewish State. In that spirit, we call for an immediate ceasefire, an end to the genocidal war we are witnessing in Gaza and the West Bank, and an end to the occupation of Palestine. Suzanne Ross, PhD, is a clinical psychologist, educator, and anti-imperialist activist. suzannewross@aol.com Join the Struggle-La Lucha Telegram channel � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Suzanne Ross Video Memoirs Description An account of the resource Pending Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Ross, Suzanne Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1930s–2022 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Wood, Nat Language A language of the resource English Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context AV-ROSS Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document Zionism is not Judaism: It is not anti- Semitic to reject Zionism The following is based on a statement originally written for a protest at Rep. Adriano Espaillat’s office In Washington Heights, New York City, because he refused to join the worldwide call for a ceasefire in Gaza. Since then, Espaillat has plastered the windows of his office with pictures of Israeli hostages seized by Hamas. The problem is not in calling for the release of the Israeli captives, but it is outrageous to have not even one picture of a Palestinian when over 20,000 Palestinians, including 8,000 children, have been massacred in Gaza in the past two and a half months. Does only Israeli life matter in the face of a genocidal war on Palestinians? What recognition is there by the congressman of this district of the value of Palestinian life? I have been living in Washington Heights, in particular in Representative Espaillat’s district, for over 40 years. I feel very much like part of the community and have raised my family here as both a mother and grandmother. The Representative’s racism, although he is a Dominican living in a multi-ethnic community, is unacceptable. We must distinguish between Zionism and Judaism: Zionism is a fundamentally racist ideology I was born before World War II in Nazi Europe to religious Jewish parents in Belgium who had come from Germany and Poland. We were part of a large extended family. Once the Nazi occupation took hold in Belgium, most of our family tried to escape. My nuclear family traveled all over Europe and North Africa for a year before we found a haven in Mozambique. All four of us survived, but 2/3 of my extended family, aunts, uncles, and cousins, including six of my mother’s siblings, perished both in Suzanne Ross. SLL photo: Lallan Schoenstein Poland and Belgium in the ghettos and concentration camps. Throughout my growing up, wherever we were, I was always very conscious of being Jewish. Our home was a traditional Jewish home, and my parents always sought out other Jewish families. But we were not Zionists. Even in the one year we spent in Palestine from 1944 to 1945, I don’t think I ever heard my parents speak about us being in the Holy Land. In fact, they chose to leave Palestine as soon as we gained entry into the U.S. It was not until the State of Israel was established in 1948 that I became conscious of Zionism in our home, in our synagogue, and in the parochial school, a Yeshiva, that my brother and I attended. Zionism became a part of our life for the first time. I recently found a composition I wrote in 1949 when I was in the 7th grade, that talked about how Israel was a small and weak country, surrounded by many hostile Arab nations, which it miraculously defeated. We became part of the growing Zionist consciousness and community in New York. I did not understand the supposed irrational hostility of the Arab nations toward Israel. But by the 1967 Arab-Israel War, I could see that Israel was no longer this small, weak country that it always claimed to be. There was even an Israeli song we all sang: “Our country, our tiny country.” Israel had defeated the Arab nations and was hailed for its military prowess. This 1967 war had hugely increased Israel’s size, now occupying land that had not been part of its original boundaries as established by the 1947 US-Great Britain-backed UN Partition Plan, which had already greatly favored the Zionists and had not included the indigenous people in its development. I began to seriously question the narrative I had been hearing since 1948. Israel was not that “tiny,” and the image of an innocent bystander was less and less credible, with the national hero of Israel, Moshe Dayan, honored around the world for his military feats and projected as a macho Israeli leader. The myths were being chipped, eventually cracked, and finally, I seriously questioned what I had been learning as dogma. I became a skeptic about Zionism. After college, I checked out the autobiography of the founder of Zionism, Theodore Herzl. I was horrified by his Eurocentric and self-hating worldview as a Jew. Yet many years later, in 1975, I was very upset when the UN General Assembly passed a resolution that Zionism was racism. What? Jews were so much, by definition, seen as victims of anti-Semitism, certainly a form of racism. How could Zionism, espoused as an ideology and vision by Jews, be considered racist? Yet, deep down, I knew there was something to this. As I became more politically active in opposing the War in Vietnam and learned about unjust occupations, I came to seriously question the U.S. and Israeli narrative about the Zionists v. the Palestinians. Perhaps most dramatic was the map of Palestine showing a very diminished Arab section and a larger and larger Jewish section, totally changing even the unfair partition imposed by the UN. After the Oslo Accords in the 1980s and 1990s, I learned about the separate roads for Israelis v the Palestinians in Israel and the torturous checkpoints for Palestinians. I more and more recognized the Apartheid nature of Israel. I learned that I (along with millions of others, Jews and non-Jews) had been lied to about the history of Zionism and the creation of the state with the backing of the British and U.S. Empires. In the past decade, I was further outraged by what I learned about the original intentions of the Zionist leaders to rely on ethnic cleansing as “necessary” to displace the Palestinians and secure the State of Israel and the boundaries the Zionist movement sought. My family’s experience and devastation in the Nazi Holocaust taught me the vow of NEVER AGAIN FOR OUR PEOPLE AND ALL PEOPLES. The more I learned about the reality of the Zionist vision and its practice, the more alienated I became from Zionism. I am today an anti-Zionist and yet remain very much Jewish and tied to the culture, religion, and history. It is not anti-Semitic to oppose Zionism. A distinction is finally being made between Judaism and Zionism. Judaism is not the same as Zionism. One can reject Zionism, a product of the late 1800s, and still love or accept Judaism (even with its contradictions). In 1898, Herzl announced his vision of Zionism as a movement to settle Jews in the “empty” land of Palestine. This was a white supremacist agenda and not only excluded non-Jews, including the indigenous people, but also brown and black Jews. Differentiating between Zionism and Judaism has made it possible to speak out against Israel and still remain Jewish. It has made the charge of anti-Semitism levied against anyone opposing Israel or Zionist ideology a ridiculous charge. Tens of thousands of Jews and non-Jews are now able to differentiate between Zionism and Judaism. That differentiation has had a profound impact on the growing powerful and leading Jewish opposition to the ongoing genocidal war against Palestine. In these past two months, a major disruption of travel at New York’s Grand Central Station on a Friday afternoon rush hour, the takeover of the Statue of Liberty, the takeover of the Congressional Rotunda in Washington, and so on are actions initiated by Jews against the Zionist agenda in Gaza and all of Palestine. A liberated Left Jewish voice, a long-silenced one, is finally being heard again. I would never have predicted even a year ago such a huge Jewish rebellion against Zionism, against the horrors of Israel with its racist and fascist leadership, and its right-wing popular support. So many of us were wrongly convinced by the U.S. and Israeli propaganda (“Hasbara”) that the only answer to the Nazi Holocaust was a Jewish State. In that spirit, we call for an immediate ceasefire, an end to the genocidal war we are witnessing in Gaza and the West Bank, and an end to the occupation of Palestine. Suzanne Ross, PhD, is a clinical psychologist, educator, and anti-imperialist activist. suzannewross@aol.com Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data PDF Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource 6-08. Judaism and Anti-Zionism: Zionism is not Judaism Subject The topic of the resource Ross, Suzanne Description An account of the resource In this article, part of a larger video memoir project, lifetime activist and educator Suzanne Ross analyzes the notions of Zionism, Judaism, antisemitism, and anti-Zionism, drawing on her own experience as a survivor of the Nazi Holocaust and her journey becoming an anti-Zionist herself. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Ross, Suzanne Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived La Lucha Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2024 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource You can, without permission, copy, modify, distribute, display, or perform the Item, for non-commercial uses. For any other permissible uses, please review the terms and conditions with the organization that has made the Item available. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Article Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context AV-ROSS.094 https://digital.bronxhistoricalsociety.org/files/original/45f11522a00936479a720c6a2fc35e11.pdf 69a2c678714ac802688c54152882d479 PDF Text Text ヽ ‐ ��UNIverses a by AnthonY Morales Edited bY Lisa Hsu A Couaeat Prrb].ication Cover photo bY Yaqub ProweJ')' ��Table Of CO聖 基≦≧≧塁旦 Introduction, bY Yagub Prowel-L Searching for what was in mY face Don Jlbaro Logo Pancy "No rnatter how much loot I qet"'" Rest my dear citY One two three in the morning The Weed Encounter AnniversarY Blues Poem on a bar naPkin tost #5 Bus Love Teacher Please Teach Me 3 5 7 9 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 �Snerica' s Online (Vergion litilleniun) Junkie's Reality (inspired by Flaco y Miky Pirlero) Ode to the Hunts Point Hookers )a Quien SoY Yo 37 Acknowledgeloents 40 2 31 2( �poets Like the qucstions that Rhythn is thc key word hcre' and thc do I obtaj.n it? vlhere do I frnc are' "Hox ti;elves author of this volume asL do I transPosc it with written exPEession?" ;;;--;", this young rnan folJ'ows Thus it transpirei ttrat ttre style of writing the essence of tre denote that a struglle to-u*ptt"" the rhyth'ns of life - in this case' walk "..rg."--itoi iroraiiay tfr.t p.t"rob,:Iate ttre Poets aPPficable Lrliters countless of continurm a on founa the Bronx' This Poet's stap"'"tt Toni Morrison' Piri Ttromas ' Anlri Baraka' who cane before - n.rpu Jiii"o"' rn the l{illie perdomo - iust to name a few' that Pablo Neruda, The Last ;;;";rs a face what- is in his face' tradition of these eraer-"-ie "c"rches for a for sealches He eig wirly the dearer' one with that of por, ,riu.io-"il that couple the of "young Dassion that encorpas"."- "t'l- is enconipassed by that Poi:r: the lonerv men ne.eotiat:ne with the3 Hunts .; ;;;T;-;1..t", il;:;-.";' Marca1 3 by a ot' t''-btr his and a love Poem Hookers, the ba! iropp"t iiiii"g whose by him' and the oLd Puerto Rican manway f.af-"itti"g the fine -Jfor Napkin rn the and i"'Jrt]tiot' ' His observations truth is told j.n ti,e cJitl"people the of and a Decorajngr which his words refleJi Uott' a depiction Siddhartha' young ulban very a portrayed liken hirn to to musically syncoPate the This volume contains a young poet's struggle fo' an create to 11"" Bronx streets which he calls home' the interval€ -effective -1t-t-:l"Ot cons-crousness between his the one called Te!j-. and to count off themes within a familiar debaEes internally and his passion as ire duality' s et f-emPowerment philosophicaL context --- "t'pt iti titf''iy' ' economic Eactfu]1y author The exploitation' revotution' leLigion, addiction, Love. ji;; the Junkie' the Hooker' and the Ghetto itself' of in th" song finds the 3 �newest melody of the conflicc he Hc kecps his ninct oPen in order to hear the of the dialectics within those whc secs evcryday. xe consi]te"ily t"tt" note cmbodied by the figule ironically and run a hard lifc, thcir antithlsis often of his people ' In his the congucst of remnant .i- ,1"""- it*i"t, . t"rigious this tinted light on a different man sheds young depiction of these "at'l!t"", uPon the Poet and the ot ineuirii alrowins his r€ader to saze ;i:- ";;;; irr" *ty th;t simurtaneously embraces and shattels Ehe ;.a;"*i;;it.tior"' stereotlryes of urban Anerica ' thc hono! of introducing to I Possess furthe! --;;;;"":ado' ntl-l:i^r'"T-1"!,1'-:..t:: o;';' you a talent birthcd :;:":,,::I"":: -the war,L or Lne \-r11 uavr,e !'v---projecls", Hence reader, witiiut train greetinq its comutels in the South Bronx - Anthony Morales' Yaqub P!oweIl May 1998 �scalctdtrg fo= rhrt ras j.n ry face in C&C territory Thc writcr hunts for bis pley an idea for a poem On his way Ant-boogie hits the stleets searching for a thought He lralks thlough the concrete suburb and first comes to a bodega that smells fulL of old ideas Maybe an ice cold Malta will be the remedy Ant goes to thc back of the bodega peruses the ALpo and Goya product aisle to find his salvation but lrhen he cracks open the chest he discovers no Malta Goya or Vitarroz that would stimulate his rr.ind Even more frustlated he starts to walk forever it seems towards his abuelita's house he passes by sinilar stleet colnels and hears ]a mtsica deL Blonx Iively saLsa and merengire beats being blasted from ta Mega mixed with the hardest hip hop from Hot 97 fused with the classic souL of Kiss all of which can't compete wiEh Ehe guiet husrfer's prece that Big Willies kick in a fiend's ear on every corne-! What' chu Lrant kid Blue caps red caps Just as sclid as my naps Nicke1 Dime Gualanteed to mess you up in t).me Snow b I oi.J What you wanna know Yeah I got some crack Five-O coRir' betca watch yo' back By now a.l-l Ant wants is �his abuclita's arroz con gandules not these hoes offelinq things that even Big AJrt lrants to reject for prices he can't lefuse He recognizes the stringY one in the Pom-Pom shorts and dirty haltser toP she was in his homeroont Her eyes ca!!Y a lot of luggage and nany geal sod^Eu rrf9'rg' Damn Ant says as he hears the rattle of the #2 train above him where are the gardens of 'fohn Adams He reaches abuelita' s Projects for his arloz con gandules In the lobby the jibaro's eYes cal] him to hear his lamentos His eyes contain Ehe sadness of a whiPPed dog and his i.Eir&Ied skin ard ttrick firgers reveal manY days en e1 camPo 6 Jibalo grunbles some SPanish unknown to lIl! Tt sabe guien es Albizu CanPos ' libertad o Muerte Am6rica es un gruPo de maricones viva Puerto Rico Y la revoluci6n It shakes Art because !inaIIy the tluth had been told IIa F:lra. rri. r-,:u ,!n the stalls ard doesn't stoP to notice the custo[rBr]'es ?he hieroglyphics on the r'rall the pi.Ie of UUy c" G on the f floor tE ]rq-rng c+]e tlat trE](es o.Jt crt tlE 56 fl@! (he heard she's due soon) The burnt hallway of the 6'h floor and now finally the sweet smell of the r)-ce and Peas quretLy sitting in the Pot and the j ourney for the idea is over The poem wrote its eL f �Don Jibalo The brown soul of the island slavas cn e1 ca4>o day afte! day sunrise to sunsct he tends to the field making iE his life His pain is shown by thc 9 platano fingers of his soft lock hands and the rlvers calved along his face providing channels for the bodi.es of sHeat He ncver washes away thc stain and the Pain of the past 506 years on his spalse attire tligueio sk.in and tattered soul Soy j lbaro Soy Puerto Rico en coraz6n Y alma y tu tambi6n te siJerrtly gxults to his j.rwjsi-b1e jjbaritD sdl because he wears his stain Proudl-!' Looking at the box upon the box with sullen eyes he watches highlights of the 2"d sunday in June pondering the diffelence fron 18 68 seeing the blind inteLligence unchanneled emotion and unjus! satisfaction of the 2 trl.illion portogringos Lets him know that it's cime contra ignorance contra assirdlation conEra prop 187 contla english only contra AneliKKKa Don Jibaro peers into the red-anber sunset of eI jibarito eyes in eI Bronx and tells him silentfy E! segudo glito es necesario ahora para salvar Ia gence puertorligueia y tu tambi6n �Lr tutur. Gttl .n tu. Ernot siJo Alt.! bl'! Dttlg. b !t E !t hf, q,fi,r!.tY aI( lodd'q cbrt labeler hoPc eichrlcr h!. f.rt gr.bt hlr Erchct. lar rDd rsrltr 8 �Ipgo E ne? (fo! tbc Drterialistic oncs ) l.ty nrcd to look Jiggy is unqucstioned Tomy tlill Nautica Gianni versace and Donna xarcn all knol, lty namc My style is siryle Rugby (collar up of coulse) ny carpentcr j cans and the construction Titns The outcr gcar aPParel is strictly North Face for the sub-zcro New York nights sulc I gotta pay a hundlcd o! molc for a shirt but so what? Yeah I know Mom Dukcs is on welfarc and my baby nceds diaPers so what she'I1 pull thlough like shc a.Iways has so what if I gots no fifc? I didn't cve! go to school to learn anyway tlhen I roLl uP in the Party �ev.!y chick is uP oD lt As soon as thosa glccnish eyes of a hon.y-dip secs ?o@y Hil,figcr cEblazoned across my bony chcat all ls folgottcn about ny aPPcaEance Iloney slowly apploachcs switching hcr PoIo hlps and showing that f1y NautLca chest and I flash rnv decked out superflcial snile lliss bcttcr come colrcct I wants a girl with DK and Dicsel and thc bigger thc patch that RalPh Laurcn puts on hcr ass thc morc it looks applc shaped our mltching Polo sport flagrances clash and out lips alc togethe! in unsubstantiated happinGss Uh-oh lrhat th. deal with money in thc Avirex lcathe! that shit nust have cost 150 bones it' s on I said to myself as I slowly followcd hin on hj.s way to see his mothcr at the old folks' 10 home �Fron bGhind the ca! I Jurycd out and said e-yo Eimc yo' shit I t ant tttc lcath'! oh you got a link too Eiutc it Can you bcllevc that hc tried to run? SoDctbiDg in t[C just snaPPed grabb.d nY Piecc in BY Pents and I ncased uP:oY nci, jackct r{ith a bullct in ihc lecX of the chief's head Euck it I sold the holy leathc! to buy a new Pai! of jordans NoH thcm cats-both the fcllaz and ladiez in school wiU be uP on it with my new shinY bloodY kicks and th] real crulified Jcsus piece across my neck 11. �trNo toatte! hor Br:dr 1oot I Eet I,t! staying in ttrc projects folevc!,, Havoc of Mobb Deep osurvival of the Fittest" lnrgine that a brothe! could makc $100 Gs a year (at l.ast) push a bccmer and come home to the love1y coDclcte gardens of CLason Point and live under the authority of Ncrr York city ltoEing is that this mentality is a false philosophy A.5 soon as this cat makes his rap and gets the contract I'd like to sec him looking at his Rolex 24R goLd shining in the light while Eiding the *2 train back to his decked out crib Thc reality r2 in t}Ic oqperirEntal sr:bsidized houslng Els ne!, S180 Air FoarPosite Pemy sneaks sure feel good those clean soles stepping on a sanitized blood and piss floor His ncw 5350 Avirex leathe! jasket sure looks good lrhen contlasted rrith the cirlL IletalLic shine of a tagged rP e.Le\/ato! -rrre urisp scrr.srd o! cire cerrjalu.us r**...i*,y in his pocket sure sounds good over the cracklttg fi-re irl the ga:irage can The glitter of his oakleys under an oranga hue streetLight strikes the needing eyes of his boys on the corner That the deal papa what's up with ou! demo I thought you was gonna put us on You loi]cer r€ represent and keep it real, my nigga �sonchow hc wants to hGlP lrhile forgetting his childhood of food starps public transPortation ling in his cars with disPlaced relalives Rcalness starts to run run scared but thc Hords of his lawyer f lott staten Island Now lookce here we're gonna make You scttE cres!tr You not ]rEUr Iltr3 dr t]c coEtel L&! no ciJclllgtances can ]'ou bcfP thsn Along wlth Your Promisc and aParunents overclowded runnj,ng scared and confused while ;eciting his hardrock rhYmes over his oxYmoron life to stay in thc Projccts forevcr ncrr you m.rst l€3Eda! that ltou tlBke r6tey icu aE bdtlr t}):n ttDse 6ldeE dr tlE @rEr A.I!ight toy nigge! so he rralks array strolls Past his 2 gradc houde whose definition in life is that hc knows a lapstar and ignores the Pleas of his gill for rroney for lhe diaPers of his son Mr FeaLness Erblaces the fake sec1]lity of the whilc rrorld of dol1ar biUs Lexuses and exucutive offices 13 �Rest t!}t dear city Before the norning dew wilL settle upon the front LaHas of the Projects Thc city that nevcr sleePs needs to wind dor.rn The old men in thc bodega nrr] I all.twTl thc aates of plotection colored by tags while hcaring the sgueaking crying and comPlaining of the local lat residents The pairs of New Balanccs and Reebok cf ass i cs Ereaks come out at. night- this night malked by the orange hue streetlight blood lcd ltLite bluc police qa! silen rays fi.re and sun bulbs of the rnterno a1l nrirrored in the flowinq Pool collected next to Paco and the hol"e in his head -a bad drug deal, gone wlong Shiny ,,exus ES 3OO's and Benzo's hanging from the lines of comunication sway in the Hindy lecesses and twirl around each other wiih the posh execut.ive ownels cruise Ehe EDR along with the dusty Impala's and do1lar cabs making their overnlght getaway flom these irtsomniac streets The women line up heow and bark vrith freedom pointing to the life of the tor.{n 14 along the Point to hustlc thcir chocha and teta merchandise for ncgotiable Pri ces for the loneIy rnen whose wives are doing lhe sane Stray cats and dogs �and stroll thc night of thc sidewalks in thc shadoH3 so thcir olPhaned or.ners and the ASPCA won't crash thcir Party in thc aLlcys A loncly front page of thc Daily News flies across thc stlcct like tbc spirits of the obituarics whosc tine passed ard ilrr, irto tha orshion of thc conclete The hurn of the underground 6 lrain Lcts those arrakc know the city has had its sleeP but it t,as only a quick naP bccause here comcs the punk tax collcctor to cop Jesus Pendants ].oot and I Love NY sweatels 15 �Splish Splash the pain in their eyes is no longe! about the water gr.rn fight they lost and as they sip the Henny to drink it a1l away I hear Marvin Gaye sing about how ooh d:.iLd ttrirgs ain' t gonna get easier l.take a dive into on the next ripple One two tlrree in the aornirrg Dalkness is broken by orange stleetlights reflected in the pool of 40 oz memolies fizzLnq and bubbling like fresh urine in a toilet and look at one wave The wail of the cPR having police rushes to the Pox 5 news scene as a mother' s cry crescendoes in a lamento Bolincano bolero I flash glances at the baby men standing in the crowd awaiting their turn 'round the chalk mark 15 a oi!1 sits alone on a park bench leliving a mental chess match how the black queen was checlsrated by the king He! tears rivering streaks of Revlon down her ashy please don't ask me cheeks She tries Eo measule her sadness agalrtst the dead neon green ]ightbulb clouds but can not The cool sheet on a sunmer night wind rocks her back to that time when �sh. was thc only boo Ln his l1fe ad turth to a GfiEIIIlE bt I €l lotE 1rr bel*er Bcnt!1ity Tragcdy lroD't cotne shc lasofvcs Hith hc! inhalations naking olang. chclly stEectlights Thc 24 hour strect pharmrcy is opcn for business trallcd ny peoplc So now doing a dead man's float fui a tributaly swig of St Ides on the floor rEdeEteath the everl€tdlleul stoic stleetlight I j urp out of despair gaspin' for rny turn to roII c lo for the ghctto cvs don't makc this tlPe of cash flov, Bop n cop niggas know snow n blow the time red cap on thc blue cap ba* on the 2 of breath BIad( MilG got his r.:ig FsH fo! frontin he carnc short be the moEto for life of the wannabc pitlps pushels and playas 1l �'lltre tlced A solitarfr rced stan& ljr a &scrtcd land waiting for a neighbor too nuch broken glass too much galbage too much Ncw York Icaves hiB alone 50 lolre.ly r. r.e hc watches flom his cornc! tlro youths kissing passionsatelY deeplY sad he could not be the girl's hand toucbing the rose caressing the velvcty lose Nobody knows the trouble he' s seen Nobody goes co this dilaPidatcd scene 18 llis grcen skinnY bodY srays to and fro in a foul south Bronx wind mixed with desPerate exhalations boodah smoke fricd brain cells and life can't get wolse and the source of his anger isn't the dog Piss that sPlashes on him one more trme or the junkie' s nervous stomP in his I'd smoke rny own dick if it could give me lhe fix two steP one day Mother Natule answered those playeEs and seeds got PLanted inplanted Lras hoPe But nah hell nah wouLd they survive his conversation was deadLy �so d.ath fricnd.ly hc becane thosc scQds wi'thelcd died and guietly dissolved into the tonb-likc soil lrhcla undelneath so EanY souls havc btock ParEies for the new visitor The vreed's last victi-Er was the rose he sought to be touched as they moved toward each other They rli sgoveled they trere of the sarE roots sane walk o! Iife she puckered he! Petals and gave him the kiss from the lose He hel,d hcr in hj's alms and s creamed so loud so loud so loud only no one heard hirn ! Now the weed stands reliving the plot in his lot of deach playing solitaire wich clacked glass sPades fake gold Pfated diamonds ultra violent billY clubs and one コust on kェ ng of hrs deadly healt Kisseg neve! grow they only kil,l Your sPirit here The rosc feI1 over and its petals uent flaccid Iooking down at the weed's roots 19 �Encourrta! ADniveEsary Blues Hey you sholty tlpc of a woman glowin' like a din light bulb floatin' on the air looki.n' like lcvitation o! maybe it's eLevation to heaven rrhen you xalk .Uay I tall( Eo you for just a couple of hours softly devouling and nibbling on your perception of me and then nr.ine of you but there' s no Deed to guestion the authority on the notion that you are the beauty lotion drop that is motj.on beyond the waves lipples and shill[ner of the ocean 20 beyond the vrhip appeaL potion somc can say you have on me beyond the iragination of rore lIEtaphols that attempt to define your existence You moistulize me in a suave way to say you complete me wouJ.d be an understatement because 2 halves rnake a whole and I'm more than that man would kick that false rap to you who is a whole Iot of lroman so you see mathematically we overcomPensate each other But emotional nurbers don't always equal a relationship equacion �Our convcrsation is only in its filst hour .nd f already thc land that is called EAkc-bclirve daydrcatn us rcaidj.ng in But it can be conceivcd s1lcnt and tnootb fc.lin' ltkc nlght turnLn' to day and day back to night ahd night to dly and day to night atrd then right there ne'Il ask rhetolical. questions like what tlpc of light shincd upon us to be hele whcrcver 1t is whcncvcr i! i3 9le both know it was love justicc caring about just us and thcn we'Il laugh and end 1t with a kl'ss 2t �Po6 on . b.t n Phin llhy rlc You butta Pccan Petitc wastin' Your breath on this cat who' s teekin' du.urb deaf and blind to what You reallY necd .nba <r.rFatbeads that f or3 on my undelams show as crcscent shaPed scas of ruy shaare from rny lack of gamc Damn I think homcboY's larne to come at You with that oDe two hey boo line You with You so fine and You a dime 22 I see the real you that's cookin' J.ike pollo guisa'o stew The tlue uonan I seek would sEep lrgm tnLs duqie whose gane is doo doo The do You rock ■s lnvュ tin′ but I'm fightin' thru the grease He could at ]cast offer you a drink hold up he owns is that cent pseudo gold-Plat.d J.sus link how could I even think he would do somelhing othcr than ０ Ｓ give You mY timc ■ike you arc my muse that fuses the Pen and the PaPer 工'■ ■ Pussy ｔ ｌ ｕ ■ ５ ａ ２ Ｂ flattelin' You parsonify a poem that's Puttin' You on a Pedestal and preaches to your PersonalitY and not your �raducc lnd scducc whilc I'n ju3t tryin' to inducc and Ploduc' ad.lc that ccs frdr t}l' helrt si.riljistl'c tlr staltin' light now I'I1 look at You and nayb. beby approach You attcrrptin' to not boast to You aboui your qualitics that swallow urc At thc sam! tiloc I'n cli$in' th. heights of this 3 bY 3 marcal naPkin runnin' out of sPace fo! nY try to gct You at mY Place so I'11 sIiP this iD Your bag dorn around Your saist My name is Ant I hope this wasn't a waste Plcase lct me know My nunber is 71E 893 4510 23 �L08t15 Bus Love Future essences of love captured !try sight of the #5 bus I see the project plj.ncess step on to the scene with he! blonze wavy hai! and crystal spalklin' eyes Deer into mv fantasv we slowly approach cach other through furtive intentional glances carryin' ou! young and unfillcd lives together to the schoolyard I see mys eIf ruuin' up to her tEart F.!IpjI' ard nen es d!!Llin' to the bcoe Hey you girl l like you you like me Baby gi!1 sayin' 24 ycah I like you boyfriend givin' De that accepted feeling of puppy love in motion while holdin' my hand dancin' a hop skip and j urnp to the rhyttun of the double flutte! heartbeat happiness takin' us to that dream house she' s the moruny I'm che daddy pullin' into the driveway cookin' me that dinne! then lre listenin' to each other's sighs and laments about our Parents they just don' t understand l,aughin' and l"ovin' movin' our bodies co movie scenes we seell over some firepLaces cracklin' and popprn' �ale our dlcans goin' up in that 3Bok. GoDC in thc south Bronx wind tc llsrrin' tn!o.$r ciE shfuy A::.a ri$to*rca just passin' by dark surroundings bccausa we in lovc we arc beautiful Pray for our seguel Ain't no matte! we'II always havc ou! atoELica] transpoltation a ffai r tomorrow I hop. he! inner sunshinc lightin' up life now it's all Eood But whiLe splintin' thlough those tncadows she coEes to a stoP and the end of Ey adventurous heart Baby baby pl.asc don't Press stoP and go I wasn't done with my daydrcam love for you just eve! We=she-BC startin' to cry over our one moment in tiDe together 25 �Ecach€r Please Teach Me Tiny tots Lrith their eYes all aglow don't cven know about the Lack of time care and money sPent by the city Thc situation is gritty shitty kinda like the sPit You see on the ground AJ.l alound EbeY gaEner sittin' on the dull cold floo! askin' Miss Rachcl l.lis s Rachcl will you read us a story? Alright boYs and girls Little said "...ana chicken the sky j.s fal].in' the sky is fallin"' But this ain't no fable The paint chips asbestOS and non― accreditatiOn are ca■ ■in′ 26 fron the South B=onx to chェ town from East St. Louis to LaWrence This warrants a grito louder than the gavef knockin' flom East St. Louis to Lalrlence Th■ s warrants a grit。 l:ll:::Fぃ ,h31^iり :̲7avil´ ■n ー レ h′ 1963 ■S nOW dead BrOwn vs. BOard of Ed. sorry to say but an ofay they'■ ■ be okay attitude aェ n′ t exact■ y prOducin′ braェ n food The mood becomes rude str=ppin′ kェ ds to nude p■ ctures of inte■ lect sO that they can′ t detect the defects critical re flecti on creatin' connections between tshe 3r' s �bccotocs crlzy hrrd whcn You got a ttc(rative Hcadstalt Beinq smart don't got nothing to do with it Whcn a 3Pirit becones detachcd from a body ccrlailr things start to haPPcn slang fl.PPin' cun cIaPPin' women slapPin' mentality snaPPin' pcople who we ca}} Iowlifca are Ploducts of this system it.i ip"ti" molc on them in jail than in school Shit' s not cool when your homeroom is the bathroom ifh.n kids fight it' s fo! space to brcathe and conceivc and not gricve ifr"t tn.y lratch more TV than they lead supposedfy we are Dlantin' the secds s leadcrs tor tornorrow' But we are j.nbreeding a vicious cycle of dePendencY on AEDC and wlc The air is as thick as uscd tires and when You search fo! the look of desile in a child's eyes all you san do is sigh and wonder whY this is hapPcnin' in Anerica sta1l or hall o! dvm slim Is ilre budget thatjust Plain din or our govtrnment as opposed to bright う４ �lmrica't onlina (velsion Miucnir8) Anelica's online for tbis new nilleni.um of rrars radiation nuclea! destluction ghetto rcconst!uction thcre's a certain tlPe of abduction of souls from the leduction of welfare what's fair comes in terns of nu:nbers while the Prez Practices inflation tt4)e inhal-ations of his lungs causin' me persPiration cuz I'm livin' j,n a fast Paced nation in between tlLinority frustlation and Anglo donination hearin' black rnen's lamentations and white men' s exhalations of fear and it's a1l here in the Rythic mcltin' pot where my rice gets cooked in a (Linute .rd dtrEr is senrd as a rD fElIIs mlclcr^Eve EEal Ghetto tested nobody's aPProved the covert use of narcotics on avenues streets and boulevards where it's become kinda hald to see what is really a Porty Reecan o! a Mexican or a Cuban or a bLack man o! woman o! a EIan cod damn f thought I l,as Amer I can But haybe not because when the block gets hot from 5-0's suspicion it's me they're wishin' did the crime There's no tijrE that could rehabilitate the damage done to mY mind internalized and ecernalized fa! a Iot of years �ｉ ｌ but you scc ヽ I can't count becausc whiLc leccivin' what thc statc ca11cd cducation the teachers did suffocation of Ey spilit and id.as By then I was introduccd to those -isms far rcre &entally handicapping than the dlug My f,uture was alrcadY dug out into the toold of Puerto Rican rnale wild as fuck don't givc a fuck Iikes to fuck and all By Iife being racisn irq)erialism colonialism forced rne to go to isolationism nBkin' tae vrant to go to the tnoon o! another planet but da8eit Ameri,ca's there too So I ask myself lrhat to do can't wait for a rainy day cuz it' s fuckin' pourin' watchin' reruns and leruns of blacks and broms on cops has becorne kinda borin' Problens probably stcm from my last name acccnt and mentality hald and grey like cement but thc jack hanrners of the -isms And I'm wonderin' where can I tuln whele it won't Look like my ski-n is burned where it won't Iook like every cop is Mark Fuh!/nan capitalism yearnin' fuckcd over by the 29 �fo! that siq)1e institution caJ,l,ed dcmoclacy Hypoclisy's bccn tIlockin' me and ny intellig.ncc Thelc's no t!T)c of rcvclcncc cuz wc live in tha tcncnents But fuck tb.t it' 3 not peEllAnent I lras heavcn scnt hclc to tarE doxn thc lrallg of conscnt that' 3 Eenufactulcd and oblitcratc those fracturcs that are thc cololizcd borders beyond thc map cousl'n you buggin' if you think dis-sclvicc is gonna stop This is thc upgrad. lrnelica' s onlinc velsion trIi].].cnium 2 yeals abcad of tine so cop this softrrale beforc your hardvralc becomcs outdated 30 �Jurtki.' t B.sIitY bE Elaco Y uiky Piiero) f i"tpi".a Son 1et mc schoo] You to the facts about Ehis crack freebase shi'E I shoot like a l,hitc boy's J all day aLl night Dy man on tshe outsidc for thc 3 the 2 the 1 It' s only fun when the homies can't lrave none and I, the ,runkie king of ttre south Bronx rcign like a bad triP suPleme ove! those other so-callcd junkies with 2 or 3 recovery Plogr.rm failures under deY belt My funky hustle bunPs up and down. the Point slarctrin with a 1OOO yard cross 3 blocks stare for ttli.S ].ittLe DqrliJri6t 16 1er old nigya with rny shit My shit Ia's just that shit that can't be exPlaineci through met a 4 o! see me lee no you can't see me giving it a warm bubble bath underneath mY trickling flame Yeah babr who's Yo daddY cornbine with thc sPirits of Ia meladona gue esta cabr6na brother solidify into a tight juieY ball of conclntrated 3OO proof fuckeduPness and here it is You! highness you enter mY vein I hold mY brain in my ashY hands Iike a sPonge and squeeze blood and thought from it I just want that dirty gutter dirty colo! dirty mothe! it' s dirty brocher there is no othe! Iove suPreme Love suPreme Get the fuck outs of rnY ndnd clean �I allcady fccl about as clcan as thc acid washed jeans Mr. Clean rrould pirE) rrit afro sheen know rrhat I mean gene mcaning la metadona gue csta cab!6na mc trae a 1a otla zona whele thc voices of junkie' s heaven dance around the niggas beinq lyndred hrho laugh at ore mdssa irer-ause ar.luge,.i.i-rr is es,lr.i-rrg if it ain't alleady hele christnas eve jingle bells mo crack sells I'm fucked up what can I say and into this mcntal gue ahora esta cabr6na Oyc ant qva pasa Pana? you must think you are a man right? 7he hai.r the nixry grixxy rct so ],letly stuff on your chest is nothing 32 Your iasignifi cant high is nothjDg You think you are t}]e jun}ie king of the Sronx Private Mora.l es you are a rrorth-less pile of Jrolseshi t tj:at .3rElls so bd tlc l,jes rqr't a,=r: .6.d< ra.th 1a-r ?tlat perso, in the IIaEor sazirg at ]qr r.dt] srpty eyes 1u: a sun.ker face ar;d a recding hair-lire is you f .rernelnber you urEftaid ard ,r,or7g reEy to dqJer the l.l2r-ld Ldt-h .j,io y.e..y >iri u But you smoked injected drank and fucked it aL7 away b you re€).ize that the draggjng ard hearrir,ess in your .brain and veins are not supposed to .be there or m)b tlBt shit (s) ias iea-r rr yqlr sgra:,',t, W for so long you don't even remetTlber .RemeIllbet shi t I'd b satid i-f yot e,st :glelber 1a:r 6-ust ki-ss who whax where when and wily vho are yoD? what are you ? �erh?.re .Ee you? why ate You th.re? vllg.n aIc u qoinE to- TcIl you to shut thc fuck uP close tllc door to thc nidlidtt of tny rElDries I don't want to know thc filst tj-trE I gave my arms a hlryoderrtic scar Discovering thc fog and dus! of my raind Hhen it tries to opcn nakes ne shut it because I arn aLlergic What kind of heavcn is this shit? My heaven lays !l batEen a bed of ccrrcEte ard llfeElo There snoke fifls the loom and ny tD.ind is f ree to exprcss my junkie's reality to the fine woman who care not for my intellect but for my glass dick they love to smoke No worries about censorshj.P this isn't a nick at nite faIrlily show Thesc people need to knor", that life ain't a drcam it' s pornographic nightmare that I've bccn jacking off to on my street where the capitalists are the Freddy Xnregers slicing my veins ir hal'f ard naking rny mi-rd fuzzy to the point of ghetto paradise Day turns to night riots of scranblilg flcrn the police and the dqrpr:s Lifc's a bitch and then you die that's vhy I gct high yoD never knov tthen Ya gonna go to the market Para esa metadona que esta cabr6na my only girl in this worLd of qutte! butter blood flow through my clean body overflow ove rthrot, ove!Load my system to the point of oh my qod danger My body' s talking my body' s talking 33 �ny body is talkinE to nc what at. u a vitqin Pussy? Sioot so&c mo of tiat shit into Yout bTood highvaY but apparently thcle j.s a traffic jam and:ry livcr and heart can't takc the pain and the strain causas me to choke on the bubbly fizz of the 40 Fox 5 tlaffic coPte! swj-rls with fLashlights ove! my skin r.,,riaa uhta atnroadtino the PoiJtt. tlrere seems to be a iwkie fyrg out in thc middle of tllc stleet I've become tshe junkie's jesfs cristo being cruficied with tubcs and scatE toxic blood plasEa through mY veins Now I vratch my life beep before my eyes beep f've comrLitted every sin known to man beep There's no turning back to Purity beep Fathe! folgive rne for I havc sinned IYs 6rdd rp to lslch, that yrr are d6est to Bin when you are about to die beep It's also a cabr6n ldErr the onLy tinE l,lJu see your loved ones is at You! funeral beeeeeeeeeaecce eeeeeee e ee e eP Nort you are mine my son �| *. to t}rt Br:trts PoiRt EooLGE3 Oh ycah oh yeah DecP and hard so dccP and hard i" tt.- grorld's oldest Profession to genitals are performed. il"iii"io"t drperdilg crr tle trid< ;;; 'r^11:r' or less "=r=y gane TonqTucs flick Iike HcY baby $,ant a date She's now sctlin of the set[i-Precious gem m.skcd bY stiletto heels spandex and Pounds of makeuP The stlut rcninds me of a mutt Lady loet the traEP and had a baby Ieft her on the sidewalk tso become a Kinda the sarnc stract corner dvreller seller of the Peach that Daddy neve! wanted to eaten seekin Mr. Right who'IL undelstand that it's a1I one elaborate PIan tshat cotrEnands no fear and the abitity to fuck and suck timc But in their velsion of the mean ass the off auctioning Pure's l,tr. eoffy for thc cash whi eh last ti} the next hand and blow Jobs are hard to cum bY Iike those decent men who insulate not forcin the folnication of the naive female sPirit stuck by invasive fingers and pimls Preachin a gosPel to know a Place You never knelr It' s not his bizness or any othe! bi znes s because the no bizness of hoes IS fo sho bi znes s Pimpin ain' t eas Y 1ir" trr.* wtrolesotrE hoes cryin and saying tshey wanna wait a while befole theY go too fas! 35 �but nclthc! is boclng Not knowinE whcthc! thc no.t tlick wl.LL be Joc Scb[oc or sone ricko so].lcltlnE razor bLadca and bubcd xilc thr nigbt bccomcs lo3t bctwccn thc hiEhs and thighs Dividcd Miss Guldcd flous through thc ncan tilc of the Polnt scarchln fo! thc point outsidc of thc joint life has b.cn Now she erosscs hcr violatcd body with the sbapc of th. crucifix wondclin 1f it's all, bccn one big sin 35 �Quicn soy Yo Yo soy the language You hear while exPeriencing a South Bronx avenue thr Language in b.tlreen a piragua and an icie la lengua jibaros use to desclibe Amcri ca Ibe eternal syllables that bounce through the cornels of your rlind sayin' everything you think bcfore you bli.nk $atch out because aqui y alIi yo estoy I be the boy sittin across from you on the 6 train listenin' to Coltrane insanely spittin' the plofane words you perceive me to be 1. But I be coastin. while others be roast.in, thelnselves to look like my rrord My word is bond is me I be NY Boricua Iearnt a lengua beyond a slmtax coDvention an invention of a nixture colonizer and colonized revitalized y internalized for my being to surprise the ignorant masses It got me guestionin' who rea1ly be che dulrlb asses so why be we in the speciaL ed classes I be the sadress en un lamento gue un viejo sings after being fired I be tired of restlictions constrictions a f f1i ctions to one diction that be ordinary diction oldinaly diction oldinary 3l �diction ordinaly can't bc but thc dlctionary the standard cause thcn I be danaged but I be ravaqcd bv confusion I be usin' soul fusion to crcatc thc i'llusion that I bc losin' but I bG winnin' gEingos orinnin' at these .-* ^ -i.ro in Lex 5 0s "a"aa "rra be causc Ibc what they }Iish they never could see But they could never bc Iivin' in mY tclritory whi ch they creatcd ffr. U"it"a States of the Ghctto oh hol" I would be chillin' 38 if I had a dime for cvery time I seen the bloody butchery of language which be me which be flowin' free into these streets which cried too many tears fo! tiberty and democracY democracY democracY dem I crah see dem mockin' me dem mockin' we iJ"ti. r"ttg'r.gc of the emPowered ;J'i"ki;' L.at tttrrt the nectars of 2 floters day our showers be gray on a sunny bonito ;;; ;; rainbowi aiter be tan where the soflito be sizzlin' that be $rhele I be what arloz con PoIIo �tut. llL thrt bG rtrrt I b. hor cold bul,lctr lltc thru th. .it th.t bG how I be wbcn le dtLc. d.f B.tslo blarat o! a ruurr dry th.t bc rh.n I b. Q,ulrn roy yo? r,ho b. ruthcntlcity y Ecguluity rrlth ri&ilrllty to no otba! thrt ba rrho f b. ｆ ｌ ｌ 一 ｒｉ ｌ 39 ｒ ｌ ｌ �AclnorlGdqtcd.nts Helc it gocs crazy Yous and gracias - thank my back thus far"' to Papl Dios upltairs fo! having(my true Peeps know. e'ho-chey a-!e 6 corne: my who's in to evlryone how much love r gots for thelo in this colaz6n of taine (Ehe 3" Leg fo! those othcls ) ) . to Lisa 6 the rest of the chaPbook team' This was a dream and 3 you it haPPen. - guys - io rnade Kate fo! puiiring me to keep on kcePin' on' to Craig for having contrdence rn my worK wnen -L ctlcln L rlcve r'L' to Lou 6. for expoiing me to how many things haPPen behind the sccnes in this rness of a dernocracy we call America (and Phillips Acadcmy). io Ceci fo! sponsoling mc at open nri cs and lettin' me know that someone else has Passion out there. the finally to ihc foundels of what I try to do, the Poets-and Pietli, Pedro piii Algarin, [iguel Piiero, !4iguel tto^"t, writeri Perdomo, Martin Tiio laviera, Julia de Buigos. Pablo Neluda, willie EsDada, The Last Poets, AIILili Baraka, the list goes on and on - you sh^owed'me the ult.imate form of exPression and fighting back - with words . Pa' fante siemPle Pa' lante nrL Pana -Ant 40 ��� Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Mariposa Fernández Papers Description An account of the resource Mariposa María Teresa Fernández (1971–) is a Puerto Rican poet and performance artist born and raised in The Bronx. She was the first in her family to graduate from college, having earned a BA and MA at New York University. Mariposa's poetry, which often intertwines Spanish and English lines, meditates on empowerment, identity, family, all through a Bronx lens. Mariposa has authored Born Bronxeña: Poems on Identity, Love & Survival (2001) and is featured in multiple anthologies. Her work has also appeared on a variety of programs produced for HBO, PBS, Lifetime TV, and BET, and she has performed for the United Nations World Conference Against Racism, the Essence Music Festival, and the Black Enterprise Women of Power Summit. Mariposa is an accomplished educator and has also worked towards women's empowerment through a variety of outlets. Her honors include a Van Lier Fellowship, an El Comité Noviembre’s Lo Mejor de Nuestra Comunidad Award, and recognition from the nonprofit El Maestro. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Fernández, Mariposa Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1978–2020 Language A language of the resource English Spanish Type The nature or genre of the resource Mixed-media collection Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context MS-FERNANDEZ Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document ヽ‐ UNIverses by AnthonY Morales a Edited bY Lisa Hsu A Couaeat Prrb].ication Cover photo bY Yaqub ProweJ')' Table Of CO聖基≦≧≧塁旦 Introduction, bY Yagub Prowel-L Searching for what was in mY face Don Jlbaro Logo Pancy "No rnatter how much loot I qet"'" Rest my dear citY One two three in the morning The Weed Encounter AnniversarY Blues Poem on a bar naPkin tost #5 Bus Love Teacher Please Teach Me 3 5 7 9 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 )a Junkie's Reality (inspired by Flaco y Miky Pirlero) 31 Snerica' s Online (Vergion litilleniun) 2 Ode to the Hunts Point Hookers Quien SoY Yo Acknowledgeloents 2( 37 40 Rhythn is thc key word hcre' and thc qucstions that poets Like the author of this volume asL ti;elves are' "Hox do I obtaj.n it? vlhere do I frnc ;;;--;", do I transPosc it with written exPEession?" Thus it transpirei ttrat ttre style of writing this young rnan folJ'ows a struglle to-u*ptt"" the rhyth'ns that denote the essence of tre "..rg."--itoi p.t"rob,:Iate ttre Poets aPPficable walk of life - in this case' iroraiiay tfr.t founa on a continurm of countless Lrliters the Bronx' This Poet's stap"'"tt who cane before - n.rpu Jiii"o"' Toni Morrison' Piri Ttromas ' Anlri Baraka' Pablo Neruda, The Last ;;;";- l{illie perdomo - iust to name a few' rn the for what- is in his face' a face that rs tradition of these eraer-"-ie one with that of por, ,riu.io-"il eig wirly the Dassion that encorpas"."- is enconipassed by that of the "young il;:;-.";' .; ;;;T;-;1..t", "t'l- the lonerv men ne.eotiat:ne with the Hunts Poi:r: Hookers, the ba! iropp"t iiiii"g Napkin for the fine f.af-"itti"-gJ- truth is told j.n ti,e cJitl"- and his passion as ire internally debaEes familiar philosophicaL context --- themes within a "t'pt leLigion, addiction, Love. exploitation' "c"rches dearer' He sealches for a couple that a love Poem and his t''-btr ot' a 3 by 3 Marca1 by him' and the oLd Puerto Rican man whose i"'Jrt]tiot' ' His observations and the way rn which his words refleJi Uott' a depiction and a Decorajngr of the people portrayed liken hirn to a very young ulban Siddhartha' syncoPate the This volume contains a young poet's struggle to musically fo' Bronx streets which he calls home' to create an -effective 11"" the one called Te!j-. and to count off the interval€ between his c-1ont-st--c:rlo"uOstness economic duality' revotution' The author Eactfu]1y s et f-emPowerment iti titf''iy' ' finds the song in th" ji;; of the Junkie' the Hooker' and the Ghetto itself' 3 Hc kecps his ninct oPen in order to hear the newest melody of the conflicc he secs evcryday. xe consi]te"ily t"tt" note of the dialectics within those whc run a hard lifc, thcir antithlsis often and ironically cmbodied by the figule .i- ,1"""- it*i"t, . t"rigious remnant of the congucst of his people ' In his depiction of these this young man sheds a different tinted light on ;i:- ;.a;"*i;;it.tior"' irr" *ty th;t simurtaneously embraces and shattels Ehe ";;;; "at'l!t"", ot ineuirii alrowins his r€ader to uPon the Poet and the saze stereotlryes of urban Anerica ' ado' I Possess thc hono! of introducing to witiiut furthe! Hence reader, --;;;;"": ntl-l:i^r'"T-1"!,1'-:..t:: you a talent birthcd o;';' :;:":,,::I"":: train greetinq its comutels in the South Bronx - Anthony Morales' projecls", -the war,L or Lne \-r11 uavr,e !'v---- Yaqub P!oweIl May 1998 scalctdtrg fo= rhrt ras j.n ry face Thc writcr hunts for bis pley an idea for a poem Ant-boogie hits the stleets searching for a thought He lralks thlough the concrete suburb and first comes to a bodega that smells fulL of old ideas Maybe an ice cold Malta will be the remedy Ant goes to thc back of the bodega peruses the ALpo and Goya product aisle to find his salvation but lrhen he cracks open the chest he discovers no Malta Goya or Vitarroz that would stimulate his rr.ind Even more frustlated he starts to walk forever it seems towards his abuelita's house in C&C territory On his way he passes by sinilar stleet colnels and hears ]a mtsica deL Blonx Iively saLsa and merengire beats being blasted from ta Mega mixed with the hardest hip hop from Hot 97 fused with the classic souL of Kiss all of which can't compete wiEh Ehe guiet husrfer's prece that Big Willies kick in a fiend's ear on every corne-! What' chu Lrant kid Blue caps red caps Just as sclid as my naps Nicke1 Dime Gualanteed to mess you up in t).me Snow b I oi.J What you wanna know Yeah I got some crack Five-O coRir' betca watch yo' back By a.l-l Ant wants is now his abuclita's arroz con gandules not these hoes offelinq things that even Big AJrt lrants to reject for prices he can't lefuse He recognizes the stringY one in the Pom-Pom shorts and dirty haltser toP she was in his homeroont Her eyes ca!!Y a lot of luggage and nany geal sod^Eu rrf9'rg' Damn Ant says as he hears the rattle of the #2 train above him where are the gardens of 'fohn Adams He reaches abuelita' s Projects for his arloz con gandules In the lobby the jibaro's eYes cal] him to hear his lamentos His eyes contain Ehe sadness of a whiPPed dog and his i.Eir&Ied skin ard ttrick firgers reveal manY days en e1 camPo 6 Jibalo grunbles some SPanish unknown to lIl! Tt sabe guien es Albizu CanPos libertad o Muerte Am6rica es un gruPo de maricones viva Puerto Rico Y la revoluci6n It shakes Art because !inaIIy the tluth had been told IIa F:lra. rri. r-,:u ,!n the stalls ard doesn't stoP to notice the custo[rBr]'es ?he hieroglyphics on the r'rall the pi.Ie of UUy c" G on the f floor tE c+]e tlat trE](es o.Jt crt tlE 56 fl@! ]rq-rng (he heard she's due soon) The burnt hallway of the 6'h floor and now finally the sweet smell of the r)-ce and Peas quretLy sitting in the Pot and the j ourney for the idea is over The poem wrote its eL f ' Don Jibalo The brown soul of the island slavas cn e1 ca4>o day afte! day sunrise to sunsct he tends to the field making iE his life His pain is shown by thc 9 platano fingers of his soft lock hands and the rlvers calved along his face providing channels for the bodi.es of sHeat He ncver washes away thc stain and the Pain of the past 506 years on his spalse attire tligueio sk.in and tattered soul Soy j lbaro Soy Puerto Rico en coraz6n Y alma y tu tambi6n te siJerrtly gxults to his j.rwjsi-b1e jjbaritD sdl because he wears his stain Proudl-!' Looking at the box upon the box with sullen eyes he watches highlights of the 2"d sunday in June pondering the diffelence fron 18 68 seeing the blind inteLligence unchanneled emotion and unjus! satisfaction of the 2 trl.illion portogringos Lets him know that it's cime contra ignorance contra assirdlation conEra prop 187 contla english only contra AneliKKKa Don Jibaro peers into the red-anber sunset of eI jibarito eyes in eI Bronx and tells him silentfy E! segudo glito es necesario ahora para salvar Ia gence puertorligueia y tu tambi6n Lr tutur. Gttl .n tu. Ernot siJo Alt.! bl'! Dttlg. b !t E !t hf, q,fi,r!.tY aI( lodd'q cbrt labeler hoPc eichrlcr h!. f.rt gr.bt hlr Erchct. lar rDd rsrltr 8 Ipgo E ne? (fo! tbc Drterialistic oncs ) l.ty nrcd to look Jiggy is unqucstioned Tomy tlill Nautica Gianni versace and Donna xarcn all knol, lty namc My style is siryle Rugby (collar up of coulse) ny carpentcr j cans and the construction Titns The outcr gcar aPParel is strictly North Face for the sub-zcro New York nights sulc I gotta pay a hundlcd o! molc for a shirt but so what? Yeah I know Mom Dukcs is on welfarc and my baby nceds diaPers so what she'I1 pull thlough like shc a.Iways has so what if I gots no fifc? I didn't cve! go to school to learn anyway tlhen I roLl uP in the Party ev.!y chick is uP oD lt As soon as thosa glccnish eyes of a hon.y-dip secs ?o@y Hil,figcr cEblazoned across my bony chcat all ls folgottcn about ny aPPcaEance Iloney slowly apploachcs switching hcr PoIo hlps and showing that f1y NautLca chest and I flash rnv decked out superflcial snile lliss bcttcr come colrcct I wants a girl with DK and Dicsel and thc bigger thc patch that RalPh Laurcn puts on hcr ass thc morc it looks applc shaped our mltching Polo sport flagrances clash and out lips alc togethe! in unsubstantiated happinGss Uh-oh lrhat th. deal with money in thc Avirex lcathe! that shit nust have cost 150 bones it' s on I said to myself as I slowly followcd hin on hj.s way to see his mothcr at the old folks' home 10 Fron bGhind the ca! I Jurycd out and said e-yo Eimc yo' shit I t ant tttc lcath'! oh you got a link too Eiutc it Can you bcllevc that hc tried to run? SoDctbiDg in t[C just snaPPed grabb.d nY Piecc in BY Pents and I ncased uP:oY nci, jackct r{ith a bullct in ihc lecX of the chief's head Euck it I sold the holy leathc! to buy a new Pai! of NoH thcm cats-both the fcllaz and ladiez in school wiU be uP on it jordans with my new shinY bloodY kicks and th] real crulified Jcsus piece across my neck 11. trNo toatte! hor Br:dr 1oot I Eet I,t! staying in ttrc projects folevc!,, Havoc of Mobb Deep osurvival of the Fittest" lnrgine that a brothe! could makc $100 Gs a year (at l.ast) push a bccmer and come home to the love1y coDclcte gardens of CLason Point and live under the authority of Ncrr York city ltoEing Thc reality is that this mentality is a false philosophy A.5 soon as this cat makes his rap and gets the contract I'd like to sec him looking at his Rolex 24R goLd shining in the light while Eiding the *2 train back to his decked out crib r2 in t}Ic oqperirEntal sr:bsidized houslng Els ne!, S180 Air FoarPosite Pemy sneaks sure feel good those clean soles stepping on a sanitized blood and piss floor His ncw 5350 Avirex leathe! jasket sure looks good lrhen contlasted rrith the cirlL IletalLic shine of a tagged rP e.Le\/ato! -rrre urisp scrr.srd o! cire cerrjalu.us r**...i*,y in his pocket sure sounds good over the cracklttg fi-re irl the ga:irage can The glitter of his oakleys under an oranga hue streetLight strikes the needing eyes of his boys on the corner That the deal papa what's up with ou! demo I thought you was gonna put us on You loi]cer r€ represent and keep it real, my nigga sonchow hc wants to hGlP but thc Hords of his lawyer f lott staten Island ling in his cars Now lookce here we're gonna make You scttE cres!tr You not ]rEUr Iltr3 dr t]c coEtel L&! no ciJclllgtances can ]'ou bcfP thsn Along wlth Your Promisc to stay in thc Projccts forevcr you m.rst l€3Eda! that ltou tlBke r6tey ncrr icu aE bdtlr t}):n ttDse 6ldeE dr tlE @rEr A.I!ight toy nigge! so he rralks array strolls Past his 2 gradc houde whose definition in life is that hc knows a lapstar and ignores the Pleas of his gill for rroney for lhe diaPers of his son Mr FeaLness Erblaces the fake sec1]lity of the whilc rrorld of dol1ar biUs Lexuses and exucutive offices lrhile forgetting his childhood of food starps public transPortation and aParunents overclowded with disPlaced relalives Rcalness starts to run run scared runnj,ng scared and confused while ;eciting his hardrock rhYmes over his oxYmoron life 13 Rest t!}t dear city Before the norning dew wilL settle upon the front LaHas of the Projects Thc city that nevcr sleePs needs to wind dor.rn The old men in thc bodega nrr] I all.twTl thc aates of plotection colored by tags while hcaring the sgueaking crying and comPlaining of the local lat residents The pairs of New Balanccs and Reebok cf ass i cs hanging from the lines of comunication sway in the Hindy lecesses and twirl around each other pointing to the life of the tor.{n The women line up 14 along the Point to hustlc thcir chocha and teta merchandise for ncgotiable Pri ces for the loneIy rnen whose wives are doing lhe sane Ereaks come out at. night- this night malked by the orange hue streetlight blood lcd ltLite bluc police qa! silen rays fi.re and sun bulbs of the rnterno a1l nrirrored in the flowinq Pool collected next to Paco and the hol"e in his head -a bad drug deal, gone wlong Shiny ,,exus ES 3OO's and Benzo's wiih the posh execut.ive ownels cruise Ehe EDR along with the dusty Impala's and do1lar cabs making their overnlght getaway flom these irtsomniac streets Stray cats and dogs heow and bark vrith freedom and stroll thc night of thc sidewalks in thc shadoH3 so thcir olPhaned or.ners and the ASPCA won't crash thcir Party in thc aLlcys A loncly front page of thc Daily News flies across thc stlcct like tbc spirits of the obituarics whosc tine passed ard ilrr, irto tha orshion of thc conclete The hurn of the underground 6 lrain Lcts those arrakc know the city has had its sleeP but it t,as only a quick naP bccause here comcs the punk tax collcctor to cop Jesus Pendants ].oot and I Love NY sweatels 15 One two tlrree in the aornirrg Dalkness is broken by orange stleetlights reflected in the pool of 40 oz memolies Splish Splash l.take a dive into fizzLnq and bubbling like fresh urine in a toilet and look at one wave The wail of the cPR having police rushes to the Pox 5 news scene as a mother' s cry crescendoes in a lamento Bolincano bolero I flash glances at the baby men standing in the crowd awaiting their turn 'round the chalk mark 15 the pain in their eyes is no longe! about the water gr.rn fight they lost and as they sip the Henny to drink it a1l away I hear Marvin Gaye sing about how ooh d:.iLd ttrirgs ain' t gonna get easier on the next ripple a oi!1 sits alone on a park bench leliving a mental chess match how the black queen was checlsrated by the king He! tears rivering streaks of Revlon down her ashy please don't ask me cheeks She tries Eo measule her sadness agalrtst the dead neon green ]ightbulb clouds but can not The cool sheet on a sunmer night wind rocks her back to that time when sh. was thc only boo Ln his l1fe ad turth to a GfiEIIIlE bt I €l lotE 1rr bel*er Bcnt!1ity Tragcdy lroD't cotne shc lasofvcs Hith hc! inhalations naking olang. chclly stEectlights Thc 24 hour strect pharmrcy is opcn for business cvs don't makc this tlPe of cash flov, trallcd ny peoplc So now doing a dead man's float fui a tributaly swig of St Ides on the floor rEdeEteath the everl€tdlleul stoic stleetlight I j urp out of despair gaspin' for rny turn to roII c lo for the ghctto Bop n cop niggas know snow n blow the time on thc blue cap red cap BIad( MilG got his r.:ig FsH ba* fo! frontin he carnc short be the moEto for life of the wannabc pitlps pushels and playas on the 2 of breath 1l 'lltre tlced llis grcen skinnY bodY srays to and fro in a foul south Bronx wind mixed with desPerate exhalations boodah smoke fricd brain cells and life can't get wolse and the source of his anger isn't the dog Piss that sPlashes on him one more trme or the junkie' s nervous stomP in his rced stan& ljr a &scrtcd land waiting for a neighbor too nuch broken glass too much galbage too much Ncw York Icaves hiB alone 50 lolre.ly r. r.e hc watches flom his cornc! tlro youths kissing passionsatelY deeplY sad he A solitarfr could not be the girl's hand toucbing the rose caressing the velvcty lose Nobody knows the trouble he' s seen Nobody goes co this dilaPidatcd scene 18 smoke rny own dick if it could give me lhe fix two steP one day Mother Natule answered those playeEs and seeds got PLanted inplanted Lras hoPe But nah hell nah wouLd they survive his conversation was deadLy I'd so d.ath fricnd.ly hc becane thosc scQds wi'thelcd died and guietly dissolved into the tonb-likc soil lrhcla undelneath so EanY souls havc btock ParEies for the new visitor The vreed's last victi-Er was the rose he sought to be touched as they moved toward each other They rli sgoveled they trere of the sarE roots sane walk o! Iife she puckered he! Petals and gave him the kiss from the lose Kisseg neve! grow they only kil,l Your sPirit here The rosc feI1 over and its petals uent flaccid Iooking down at the weed's roots He hel,d hcr in hj's alms and s creamed so loud so loud so loud ! only no one heard hirn Now the weed stands reliving the plot in his lot of deach playing solitaire wich clacked glass sPades fake gold Pfated diamonds ultra violent billY clubs and one コust on kェ ng of hrs deadly healt 19 20 Encourrta! ADniveEsary Blues Hey you sholty tlpc of a woman glowin' like a din light bulb floatin' on the air looki.n' like lcvitation o! maybe it's eLevation to heaven rrhen you xalk .Uay I tall( Eo you for just a couple of hours softly devouling and nibbling on your perception of me and then nr.ine of you but there' s no Deed to guestion the authority on the notion that you are the beauty lotion drop that is motj.on beyond the waves lipples and shill[ner of the ocean beyond the vrhip appeaL potion somc can say you have on me beyond the iragination of rore lIEtaphols that attempt to define your existence You moistulize me in a suave way to say you complete me wouJ.d be an understatement because 2 halves rnake a whole and I'm more than that man would kick that false rap to you who is a whole Iot of lroman so you see mathematically we overcomPensate each other But emotional nurbers don't always equal a relationship equacion Our convcrsation is only in its filst hour .nd f already daydrcatn us rcaidj.ng in thc land that is called EAkc-bclirve But it can be conceivcd s1lcnt and tnootb fc.lin' ltkc nlght turnLn' to day and day back to night ahd night to dly and day to night atrd then right there ne'Il ask rhetolical. questions like what tlpc of light shincd upon us to be hele whcrcver 1t is whcncvcr i! i3 9le both know it was love justicc caring about just us and thcn we'Il laugh and end 1t with a kl'ss 2t Po6 on . b.t n Phin You parsonify a poem that's Puttin' You on a Pedestal and preaches to your PersonalitY and not your Pussy I see the real you that's cookin' J.ike pollo guisa'o stew The tlue uonan I seek would sEep lrgm tnLs duqie whose gane is The do You rock ■s lnvュtin′ but I'm fightin' thru the grease He could at ]cast offer you a drink hold up he owns is that cent pseudo gold-Plat.d J.sus link how could I even think he would do somelhing othcr than llhy rlc You Petitc on this cat who' s teekin' du.urb deaf and blind to what You reallY necd .nba <r.rFatbeads that f or3 butta Pccan wastin' Your breath on my undelams show as crcscent shaPed scas of ruy shaare from rny lack of gamc Damn I think homcboY's larne to come at You with that doo doo flattelin' oDe two hey boo line You with You so fine and You a dime 工'■■ give You mY timc ■ike you arc my muse that fuses the Pen and the PaPer 22 tl u■50 Ba2S raducc lnd scducc whilc I'n ju3t tryin' to inducc and Ploduc' tlr si.riljistl'c ad.lc that ccs frdr t}l' helrt light now staltin' I'I1 look at You and nayb. beby approach You attcrrptin' to not boast to You aboui your qualitics that swallow urc At thc sam! tiloc I'n cli$in' th. heights of this 3 bY 3 marcal naPkin runnin' out of sPace fo! nY try to gct You at mY Place so I'11 sIiP this iD Your bag dorn around Your saist My name is Ant I hope this wasn't a waste Plcase lct me know My nunber is 71E 893 4510 23 24 L08t15 Bus Love Future essences of love captured !try sight of the #5 bus I see the project plj.ncess step on to the scene with he! blonze wavy hai! and crystal spalklin' eyes Deer into mv fantasv we slowly approach cach other through furtive intentional glances carryin' ou! young and unfillcd lives together to the schoolyard I see mys eIf ruuin' up to her tEart F.!IpjI' ard nen es d!!Llin' to the bcoe Hey you girl l like you you like me Baby gi!1 sayin' ycah I like you boyfriend givin' De that accepted feeling of puppy love in motion while holdin' my hand dancin' a hop skip and j urnp to the rhyttun of the double flutte! heartbeat happiness takin' us to that dream house she' s the moruny I'm che daddy pullin' into the driveway cookin' me that dinne! then lre listenin' to each other's sighs and laments about our Parents they just don' t understand l,aughin' and l"ovin' movin' our bodies co movie scenes we seell over some firepLaces cracklin' and popprn' ale our dlcans goin' up in that 3Bok. GoDC in thc south Bronx wind tc llsrrin' tn!o.$r ciE shfuy A::.a ri$to*rca just passin' by dark surroundings Pray for our seguel Ain't no matte! we'II always havc ou! atoELica] transpoltation a ffai r tomorrow I hop. bccausa we in lovc we arc beautiful he! inner sunshinc lightin' now it's all Eood up life But whiLe splintin' thlough those tncadows she coEes to a stoP and the end of Ey adventurous heart Baby baby pl.asc don't Press stoP and go I wasn't done with my daydrcam love for you just eve! We=she-BC startin' to cry over our one moment in tiDe together 25 Ecach€r Please Teach Me fron the South B=onx to chェtown from East St. Louis to LaWrence This warrants a grito louder than the gavef knockin' flom East St. Louis to Lalrlence Th■ s warrants a grit。 ー l:ll:::Fぃ ,h31^iり :_7avil ́ レ Tiny tots Lrith their eYes all aglow don't cven know about the Lack of time care and money sPent by the city Thc situation is shitty kinda like the sPit You see on the ground AJ.l alound EbeY gaEner sittin' on the dull cold floo! askin' Miss Rachcl l.lis s Rachcl will you read us a story? Alright boYs and girls "...ana chicken Little said the sky j.s fal].in' the sky is fallin"' But this ain't no fable The paint chips asbestOS and non―accreditatiOn are ca■ ■in′ 26 gritty ■n 1963 BrOwn vs. BOard of Ed. sorry to say but an ofay they'■ ■ be okay attitude aェ n′ t exact■ y prOducin′ braェ n food The mood becomes rude str=ppin′ kェ ds to nude p■ of inte■ lect sO that they can′ t detect the defects critical re flecti on creatin' connections between tshe 3r' s ctures h′ ■S nOW dead bccotocs crlzy hrrd whcn You got a ttc(rative Hcadstalt Beinq smart don't got nothing to do with it Whcn a 3Pirit becones detachcd from a body ccrlailr things start to haPPcn slang fl.PPin' cun cIaPPin' women slapPin' mentality snaPPin' pcople who we ca}} Iowlifca are Ploducts of this system it.i ip"ti" molc on them in jail than in school Shit' s not cool when your homeroom is the bathroom sta1l or hall o! dvm Is ilre budget that slim or our govtrnment just Plain din as opposed to bright ifh.n kids fight it' s fo! space to brcathe and conceivc and not gricve ifr"t tn.y lratch more TV than they lead supposedfy we are Dlantin' the secds tor tornorrow' s leadcrs But we are j.nbreeding a vicious cycle of dePendencY on AEDC and wlc The air is as thick as uscd tires and when You search fo! the look of desile in a child's eyes all you san do is sigh and wonder whY this is hapPcnin' in Anerica う4 lmrica't onlina (velsion Miucnir8) Anelica's online for tbis new nilleni.um of rrars radiation nuclea! destluction ghetto rcconst!uction thcre's a certain tlPe of abduction of souls from the leduction of welfare what's fair comes in terns of nu:nbers while the Prez Practices inflation tt4)e inhal-ations of his lungs causin' me persPiration of fear and it's a1l here in the Rythic mcltin' pot where my rice gets cooked in a (Linute .rd dtrEr is senrd as a rD fElIIs mlclcr^Eve EEal Ghetto tested nobody's aPProved the covert use of narcotics on avenues streets and boulevards where it's become kinda hald to see what is really a Porty Reecan o! a Mexican or a Cuban or a bLack man o! woman o! a EIan cod damn f thought I l,as Amer I can But haybe not because when the block gets hot from 5-0's suspicion it's me they're wishin' did the crime There's no tijrE that could rehabilitate the damage done to mY mind internalized and ecernalized fa! a Iot of years cuz I'm livin' in between tlLinority frustlation and Anglo donination hearin' black rnen's lamentations and white men' s exhalations j,n a fast Paced nation but you scc I can't count becausc whiLc leccivin' what thc statc ca11cd cducation the teachers did suffocation of Ey spilit and id.as By then I was introduccd to those -isms far rcre &entally handicapping than the dlug My f,uture was alrcadY dug out into the toold of Puerto Rican rnale wild as fuck don't givc a fuck Iikes to fuck and all By Iife being fuckcd over by the Problens probably stcm from my last name acccnt and mentality hald and grey like cement but thc jack hanrners of the -isms capitalism racisn irq)erialism colonialism forced rne to go to isolationism nBkin' tae vrant to go to the tnoon o! another planet but da8eit Ameri,ca's there too So I ask myself lrhat to do can't wait for a rainy day cuz it' s fuckin' pourin' watchin' reruns and leruns of blacks and broms on cops has becorne kinda borin' And I'm wonderin' where can I tuln whele it won't Look like my ski-n is burned where it won't Iook like every cop is Mark Fuh!/nan yearnin' 29 ヽ il fo! that siq)1e institution caJ,l,ed dcmoclacy Hypoclisy's bccn tIlockin' me and ny intellig.ncc Thelc's no t!T)c of rcvclcncc cuz wc live in tha tcncnents But fuck tb.t it' 3 not peEllAnent I lras heavcn scnt hclc to tarE doxn thc lrallg of conscnt that' 3 Eenufactulcd and oblitcratc those fracturcs that are thc cololizcd borders beyond thc map cousl'n you buggin' if you think dis-sclvicc is gonna stop This is thc upgrad. lrnelica' s onlinc velsion trIi].].cnium 2 yeals abcad of tine so cop this softrrale beforc your hardvralc becomcs outdated 30 Jurtki.' f i"tpi".a bE Elaco Y uiky Piiero) t B.sIitY My shit Ia's just that shit that can't be exPlaineci through met a 4 o! see me lee no you can't see me giving it a warm bubble bath underneath mY trickling flame Yeah babr who's Yo daddY cornbine with thc sPirits of Ia meladona gue esta cabr6na brother solidify into a tight juieY ball of conclntrated 3OO proof fuckeduPness and here it is You! highness you enter mY vein I hold mY brain in my ashY hands Iike a sPonge and squeeze blood and thought from it I just want that dirty gutter dirty colo! dirty mothe! it' s dirty brocher there is no othe! Iove suPreme Love suPreme Get the fuck outs of rnY ndnd clean Son 1et mc schoo] You about Ehis crack freebase shi'E I shoot like a l,hitc boy's J all day aLl night Dy man on tshe outsidc for thc 3 the 2 the 1 It' s only fun when the homies can't lrave none and I, the ,runkie king of ttre south Bronx rcign like a bad triP suPleme ove! those other so-callcd junkies with 2 or 3 recovery Plogr.rm failures under deY belt My funky hustle bunPs up and down. the Point slarctrin with a 1OOO yard cross 3 blocks stare for ttli.S ].ittLe DqrliJri6t 16 1er old nigya with rny shit to the facts 32 I allcady fccl about as clcan as thc acid washed jeans Mr. Clean rrould pirE) rrit afro sheen know rrhat I mean gene mcaning la metadona gue csta cab!6na mc trae a 1a otla zona whele thc voices of junkie' s heaven dance around Your iasignifi cant high is nothjDg You think you are t}]e jun}ie king of the Sronx Private Mora.l es you are a rrorth-less pile of Jrolseshi t tj:at .3rElls so bd tlc l,jes rqr't a,=r: .6.d< ra.th 1a-r ?tlat perso, 1u: - in the IIaEor sazirg at ]qr r.dt] srpty eyes a sun.ker face ar;d a recding hair-lire is you f .rernelnber you urEftaid ard ,r,or7g reEy to dqJer the l.l2r-ld Ldt-h .j,io y.e..y >iri u But you smoked injected drank and fucked it aL7 away b you re€).ize that the draggjng ard hearrir,ess in your .brain and veins are not supposed to .be there or m)b tlBt shit (s) ias iea-r rr yqlr sgra:,',t, W for so long you don't even remetTlber .RemeIllbet shi t I'd b satid i-f yot e,st :glelber 1a:r 6-ust ki-ss who whax where when and wily vho are yoD? what are you ? the niggas beinq lyndred hrho laugh at ore mdssa irer-ause ar.luge,.i.i-rr is es,lr.i-rrg if it ain't alleady hele christnas eve jingle bells mo crack sells I'm fucked up what can I say and into this mcntal gue ahora esta cabr6na Oyc ant qva pasa Pana? you must think you are a man right? 7he hai.r the nixry grixxy rct so ],letly stuff on your chest is nothing erh?.re .Ee you? why ate You th.re? vllg.n aIc u qoinE to- it' s pornographic nightmare that I've bccn jacking off to on my street where the capitalists are the Freddy Xnregers slicing my veins ir hal'f ard naking rny mi-rd fuzzy to the point of ghetto paradise Day turns to night riots of scranblilg flcrn the police and the dqrpr:s Lifc's a bitch and then you die that's vhy I gct high yoD never knov tthen Ya gonna go to the market Para esa metadona que esta cabr6na my only girl in this worLd of qutte! butter blood flow through my clean body overflow ove rthrot, ove!Load my system to the point of oh my qod danger My body' s talking my body' s talking TcIl you to shut thc fuck uP close tllc door to thc nidlidtt of tny rElDries I don't want to know thc filst tj-trE I gave my arms a hlryoderrtic scar Discovering thc fog and dus! of my raind Hhen it tries to opcn nakes ne shut it because I arn aLlergic What kind of heavcn is this shit? My heaven lays !l batEen a bed of ccrrcEte ard llfeElo There snoke fifls the loom and ny tD.ind is f ree to exprcss my junkie's reality to the fine woman who care not for my intellect my glass dick they love to smoke No worries about censorshj.P this isn't a nick at nite faIrlily show Thesc people need to knor", that life ain't a drcam but for 33 ny body is talkinE to nc what at. u a vitqin Pussy? Sioot so&c mo of tiat shit into Yout bTood highvaY but apparently thcle j.s a traffic jam and:ry livcr and heart can't takc the pain and the strain causas me to choke on the bubbly fizz of the 40 Fox 5 tlaffic coPte! swj-rls with fLashlights ove! my skin r.,,riaa uhta atnroadtino the PoiJtt. tlrere seems to be a iwkie fyrg out in thc middle of tllc stleet I've become tshe junkie's jesfs cristo being cruficied with tubcs and scatE toxic blood plasEa through mY veins Now I vratch my life beep before my eyes beep f've comrLitted every sin known to man beep There's no turning back to Purity beep Fathe! folgive rne for I havc sinned IYs 6rdd rp to lslch, that yrr are d6est to Bin when you are about to die beep It's also a cabr6n ldErr the onLy tinE l,lJu see your loved ones is at You! funeral beeeeeeeeeaecce eeeeeee e ee e eP Nort you are mine my son | *. to t}rt Br:trts PoiRt EooLGE3 She's now sctlin of the set[i-Precious gem m.skcd bY stiletto heels spandex and Pounds of makeuP The stlut rcninds me of a mutt Lady loet the traEP and had a baby Ieft her on the sidewalk tso become a stract corner dvreller seller of the Peach that Daddy neve! wanted to eaten seekin Mr. Right who'IL undelstand that it's a1I one elaborate PIan tshat cotrEnands no fear and the abitity to fuck and suck stuck by invasive fingers a gosPel and pimls Preachin never knelr to know a Place You It' s not his bizness or any othe! bi znes s because the no bizness of hoes IS fo sho bi znes s Pimpin ain' t eas Y Oh ycah oh yeah DecP and hard so dccP and hard i" tt.- grorld's oldest Profession il"iii"io"t to genitals are performed. or less drperdilg crr tle trid< ;;; "=r=y 'r^11:r'gane TonqTucs flick Iike HcY baby $,ant a date Kinda the sarnc 1ir" trr.* wtrolesotrE hoes cryin and saying tshey wanna wait a while befole theY go too fas! But in their velsion of the mean timc l,tr. eoffy Pure's auctioning off the ass for thc cash whi eh last ti} the next hand and blow Jobs are hard to cum bY Iike those decent men who insulate not forcin the folnication of the naive female sPirit 35 35 but nclthc! is boclng Not knowinE whcthc! thc no.t tlick wl.LL be Joc Scb[oc or sone ricko so].lcltlnE razor bLadca and bubcd xilc thr nigbt bccomcs lo3t bctwccn thc hiEhs and thighs Dividcd Miss Guldcd flous through thc ncan tilc of the Polnt scarchln fo! thc point outsidc of thc joint life has b.cn Now she erosscs hcr violatcd body with the sbapc of th. crucifix wondclin 1f it's all, bccn one big sin Quicn soy Yo Yo soy the language You hear while exPeriencing a South Bronx avenue thr Language in b.tlreen a piragua and an icie la lengua jibaros use to desclibe Amcri ca Ibe eternal syllables that bounce through the cornels of your rlind sayin' everything you think bcfore you bli.nk $atch out because aqui y alIi yo estoy But I be coastin. while others be roast.in, thelnselves to look like my rrord My word is bond is me I be NY Boricua Iearnt a lengua beyond a slmtax coDvention an invention of a nixture colonizer and colonized revitalized y internalized for my being to surprise the ignorant masses It got me guestionin' who rea1ly be che dulrlb asses so why be we in the speciaL ed classes I be the sadress en un lamento gue un viejo sings after being fired I be tired of restlictions constrictions a f f1i ctions to one diction that be ordinary diction oldinaly diction oldinary I be the boy sittin across from you on the 6 train listenin' insanely spittin' the plofane words you perceive me to be 1. to Coltrane 3l ordinaly but thc dlctionary if I had a dime for cvery time I seen the bloody butchery of language which be me which be flowin' free into these streets which cried too many tears fo! tiberty and democracY democracY democracY dem I crah see dem mockin' me dem mockin' we iJ"ti. r"ttg'r.gc of the emPowered ;J'i"ki;' L.at tttrrt the nectars of 2 floters our showers be gray on a sunny day ;;; ;; rainbowi aiter be tan bonito where the soflito be sizzlin' that be $rhele I be what arloz con PoIIo diction can't bc the standard cause thcn I be danaged but I be ravaqcd bv confusion I be usin' soul fusion to crcatc thc i'llusion that I bc losin' but I bG winnin' orinnin' at these gEingos .-* ^ -i.ro in Lex 5 0s "rra "a"aa be causc Ibc what they }Iish they never could see But they could never bc Iivin' in mY tclritory whi ch they creatcd ffr. U"it"a States of the Ghctto oh hol" I would be chillin' 38 tut. llL thrt bG rtrrt I b. hor cold bul,lctr lltc thru th. .it th.t bG how I be wbcn le dtLc. d.f B.tslo blarat o! a ruurr dry th.t bc rh.n I b. Q,ulrn roy yo? r,ho b. ruthcntlcity y Ecguluity rrlth ri&ilrllty to no otba! thrt ba rrho f b. 39 f l l 一r i l r l l 40 AclnorlGdqtcd.nts Helc it gocs 3 crazy thank Yous and gracias - to Papl Dios upltairs fo! having my back thus far"' to evlryone who's in my corne: (my true Peeps know. e'ho-chey a-!e 6 how much love r gots for thelo in this colaz6n of taine (Ehe 3" Leg fo! those othcls ) ) . to Lisa 6 the rest of the chaPbook team' This was a dream and you guys rnade it haPPen. - - io Kate fo! puiiring me to keep on kcePin' on' to Craig for having contrdence rn my worK wnen -L ctlcln L rlcve r'L' to Lou 6. for expoiing me to how many things haPPen behind the sccnes in this rness of a dernocracy we call America (and Phillips Academy). io Ceci fo! sponsoling mc at open nri cs and lettin' me know that someone else has Passion out there. finally to ihc foundels of what I try to do, the Poets-and the writeri - piii tto^"t, !4iguel Piiero, [iguel Algarin, Pedro Pietli, Tiio laviera, Julia de Buigos. Pablo Neluda, willie Perdomo, Martin EsDada, The Last Poets, AIILili Baraka, the list goes on and on - you sh^owed'me the ult.imate form of exPression and fighting back - with words . Pa' fante siemPle Pa' lante nrL Pana -Ant Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data PDF Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Anthony Morales, UNIverses. Subject The topic of the resource Morales, Anthony Poets and performance artists (The Bronx, New York) UNIverses. Ethnic groups and nationalities -- Puerto Ricans (Boricuas) Description An account of the resource <div class="element-text"><em></em> <div class="item-description"><em>UNIverses.</em>, a chapbook of poetry written by Bronx-based poet Anthony Morales</div> </div> Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Morales, Anthony Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available A Courant Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1998 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource The organization that has made the Item available believes that the Item is in the Public Domain under the laws of the United States, but a determination was not made as to its copyright status under the copyright laws of other countries. The Item may not be in the Public Domain under the laws of other countries. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Language A language of the resource English Spanish Type The nature or genre of the resource Archival document Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context MS-FERNANDEZ.BD003.002 https://digital.bronxhistoricalsociety.org/files/original/06ca90975d33a7a8fe9ea6851eb7185d.pdf fb065a868dec6be9e37bd85321655112 PDF Text Text ′ ´ ‐ ‐ ヽ ● ヽ ｀ ヽ �Born Bronxena Poems on Identity, Survival, Love & Freedom it{ariposa Bronxefra Books Brom, New York Gover Design By mellesol I orlg nal Arlwork �Acknowledgeaents Much thanks to The Bronx Council on the Arts and The Bronx Writers' Center, especially Leslie Shipman, Laurie Palmieri and Bill Aguado. Thank you for all of your support and encouragement, and for all the hard work you do to make sure that art and culture continue to thrive in the Brpnx. I'd like to also acknowledge my beautiful family and a1l the poetic inspirations ir my Iile especially the late great Marc Crawford, melleSOl, Teresa Lynn Rivera, Deriree Rivera, Joseph Rivera, Esperanza Martell, Rev, Pedro Piehi, Carmen Pielri, Lois GriJfith, Pepe, Julio, Willie Perdomo, Sandra Maria Esteves, Jesus Papoleto Melendez, Stephanie Agosto, Suzana Cabaflas, Franl Perez, Sonia Gonazlez, Rosie Perez, Anita Rivera, Sandra Garcia Rivera, Welfare Poets, Erica & Melinda Gonzalez, Angel Rodriguez, Universes, Marlyn Malias, Danny Hoch, Satah Jones, Arthur Aviles, Charles Rice Gonzalez, Eddie Pagan, Sery Colon, Luki and all the rest. You know you are, I'm truiy biessed. There too many beautifuL peopie in my iife too list here. All Praises due to the Great Spiritl Bofl Bronxefia.Second Edihon. Mariposa @ 2001 Repruited with the permission of Sistahs Underground Publicatioru, Al1 rights reserved. Plinted in the Bron"rl No part of this book may be reproduced rn any manner whatsoever without written permission of the author except in Lhe case 0f brief quotations.embodied in critical arlicles and reviews. For hlormahon piease contact the Bronx Council on the Arts or Mariposa at hemenda@ frnai o lt1 �Bronxeia Books, a program ofThe Bronx Writers' Center and the Bronx Council on the Ars, publishes emerging uban writers in chapbook torm.. Brontefi Bookscurrently publishes the work of Van Li0r Fellows. The name Bronxefra is a gift to the Bronx Writer's Center from Mariposa. The Van Lier Literary Fellowshlp O Resiilency Program is an annual Fellowship that provides an This, opportunity for three literary artisb under the age of to receive a $7,000 grint to focus on their deveiopm as a writer, both piofessionally and'artistically. Previous recipients include Sarah Jones, Nelly Ros Angie Cruz, Suheir Hammad and Antirony DeMo my first chapbook is dedicated to the Poet in me still skuggling.to be free, to the Soul of the Bronx and to Mami & Daddy. This publiution is made possible by the799912000 Lier Literary Fellowship 0 Residency, fundedby th Edward and Sally Van Liei Fund of the New York Thank you. Community Trust. I love you. ′ ¨ ̀: �- My Mothe/s Eyes (for Mary FernAndez, mi fuerza, mi vida) "An artist's expression is fter] soul made apparent, [her] schooling, as well as [her] "cool" being exhibited. Behind every motion, the music of [her] soul is made visible. My mothels eyes tell a story of powa arid shength of skuggle and grief of a woman's joumey Otherwise, ftul drotion is empty Brown almond eyes set.in a brown oval face and erhpty motion E like an and a gaze soft and warm emiity word - no meaning," a gaze full of courage raging in the storm - Masbr Bruce Lee My mother's eyes speak to me of survival and secreb yet to be told of pain hidden away of sleepless nighb and lonely days My mothe/s eyes speak magic laughter andjoy and loving life Keeping me steady lvlaking me shong Passing on a legary Ia mujer Boricua rebom La mujer Boricua growing shong La mujer Boricua living on and on.., �Haikus for Daddy Ode to the DiaspoRican (pa' mi gente) You always taught me To think for myself and not be an idiot Mira a mi cara Puertoniquefia Mi pelo vivo Mis manos morenas Mira a mi coraz6n que se llma de orgullo Y di me que no soy Boricua H. Some people say that I'm not the real thing Strong silent mountain I ould alwiys count on you Your love was conshnt Boricua, that is cause I wasrft born on the endraned island cause I was born on the mainland nor8r ofSpanish Harlem m. cause I was bom in the Bronx.., some people think that [m not bonafide I am your daughter .cause my playground was a concrete jungle Uke you, a stong tough Bronx kid Determined to win. cause my Rio Grande de Loiza was dre Bronx River cause my Faiardo was Ci$ Island rny Luquillq Orchard Beach and summer nighe were filled with city noises instead of coquis and Puerto Rico was just some paradise that we only saw in pictures. What does it mean to Iive in betwem What does it take to reali'e that being Boricua is a shte of mind a shts of hea* a state of soul... lMira! �No nac{ en Puerto Rico Puerto Rico naclo en mi! Boricua Duttafly IAnthe Miraa面 caraPuerOrnqueia Meta-morpha+ized Mi pelo vivo Mis mnos mo nas Mira a面 ∞raz6n que se lem Ihe rebom The living phoenix orgulo I{ising up out of the ashes Y dilme que no soy 3oricua・ Ofmy conquued people Not the lost Puerto Rican soul in search of identity Not the tsagic Nuyorican in search Of the land of the palm ree Not fragm.ented but whole Not olonized but Free. ・ 一 鱗只 �Mi Abuelita preciosa gave us the same gift every year with laughter, tears, joy and pain ・ ・ 令 は ほ 鸞・ La Navidad con mi Abuela of all the people who came on Noche Buenal Iwish I ould be a litde girl again. I wish I could say La Bendici6n just one more time, the giltoflove to feel Abuela's dreek next to mine she gave from her soul to relive la Navidad con mi Abuela. the 6ift of love that she made with her arihritic hands, the hands of a garment worker who would not stop giving the love that is still living even drough she is gone. Remembeiing Wela and the best'pasteles in the Bronx... I remember the ritual that lasted weels that began with a trip to Simpson Sheet b buy las verduras. I wish I could watch her hands again grind the yautia, plahno verde y el guineo hmbien I wish I could sit in her kirchen again smell the aroma of sofrito listen to the alguinaldos de Ramito and hear her sing song voice scold me as I sneak pieces of carne y asetuna into my mouth I wish I could hand her el rollo de papel and lvlami y Titi fold and tie and stack dre precious gifc de mi Abuelih I wish I could remember all 0re faces remember all the names t0 It �Poem for My Grifa-Rican Sistah Or Broken Ends Broken Promises (para mi melliza, Melissa, who endured it with me) Braids trvist and tie ■● ■ ド ● ⁚ １一■・ onsuain baby naps never to be free braids twist and tie conain / hold in the shame of not havirt' long black silky stands to run my fingers through. The Puerto Rican Spirit Mofros y bobby piru Flies like a fiery phoenix Please forgive me for the sin twist and wrap Sounds like the bomba rhythms of a pasionate heartbeat Looks like the curly brown waves of my hair And smells lile sofrito. of not inheriting Papr"s "goo{ hair" moflos y bObby pins twist and wraii ' restrain kinky naps dying to beftee but not the pain of not having a long black silky mane to run my fingers drrough. Clips and ribbons to hold back and tie oppressing baby naps nerrer to be free dips andribbors to hold back and tie imprisoningbaby naps never b have the dignity to be, Chemical relaxers brokm enils / brokm promises activabr and cream 12 t3 �mixed in with bittemess mix well... the ritual of comb ng / parbng I sectioning the greasing of the scaip / the neck / I remember the view from / the ears the backseat window of my mother's red Nova / and then the burning / the burning How could I ever forget the cityscape the forehead the process 70's South Bronx Memories "lt hurts to be beautiful" on the southbound Bronx River Parkway? my mother tells me "Pero mami me PICA!" Flying at filty five miles per hour, and then the running / the rururing to water of The Bronx Zoo and the Botanical Gardens to salvation /to neuhalizer passing the mysterious tsees lining the oulskirts / to broken ends and broken promises... The sky would open up and you'd see the Bronx stretch its buildings endlessly. Parkchester and Soundview to the left and on the right, Graduating from Carefree Curl the cream colored towers of the a Hun-8Oth Sheet hain Io Kitry curl / to Revlon / to super duper labulaxer different boxes offering us broken ends and broken station where the 2 and 5 snaked their way to Manhathn with all ils silver skyscrapers looming on the southern skyline. promises. How could I forget the sky? "We've come a long way since Dixie Peach." my mother tells me as I sit at the kitchen table' Chemical relaxers to melt away the shame until new growth reminds us that it is time once again for the ritual and the fear of scalp burru and hair loss It was always lined with clouds of dark purple smoke And the air smelled of burning wood and rubber. I remember visiting Abuelo on Bryant Avenue in Hun(s Point. His was the only building left standing on that block Where he stood selling piraguas Surrounded by lob of piled brick and garbage. "lt looks like there was a war here Mami." Together we had seen fire late late show and the welcoming World War il movie with Sophia Loren of broken ends Fighting to stay alive in worn torn Italy. and broken Mami said that she was a litde girl at that time. Promises. In El Barrio, where she grew up in the 1940's They'd have air raids and all the little kids Had to hide under their desks at school. "Mami, is there a war going on here?" I remember standing close to her 14 15 �Licking my cherry piragua Wondering if rab Iurked beneati The mountains of charred brick. The New Downtown Bronx or Headline Bronx News They Forgot to Tell Us About I don't ever remember her Answering my question. The Bronx Borough President declares All I remember is the the South Bronx will hereby be known Sad look of her forever as the New Downtown Bronx, Silence. as The New YorkTimes praises 0re borough as the best "lnner" city in America, as the bohemian young professional offspring of Baby Boomers continue to roll into town seeking to change their lives h the city that never sleeps, as renb continue to go up, as blood continues to stain our streeb as poor people become poorer, as schools fail our children, as prisons overflow, as we ask ourselves, where will we go? as gentilication ttuives in our land as we continue to wihess dre devastation and the perpetuation of 500 years of eviction notices. r6 17 �Subversive? Somewhere deep irside she lives, I am a single poet But no lonier can she see by the dawn s early [ght Not a word What so proudly she once hailed In the land where nothlng is free. That can be erased From existence, Look into my soul and /ou will see Noramlawoman Who can be Who I really am. Dehumanized By a single word; Just a thtd gmeration Puerto Rican Bronx born, I am not a label, The daughter of a bodegueto, Nor a loca, Nor a fanatical The gnnddaugher of a phaguero, Descended from los cariduros de FaTardo. Touch my hands and you will know Radica[. You may see a wanior princes Standing before you but I am just a Puerto Rican girl from the Broru Who one day learned against hu fragile will That het people were not free. Somewhere deep inside she lives. The girl who believed in Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny As she saluted the American flag, Whb cheered on John Wayne and the [.one Ranger Believing it was the Indiaru who were bad. Sourewhere deep inside she lives. The girl who read the Scripture atmass, The girl who prided herself for being obedienf 18 ．・ 一 離 ｔ ●甕 ●厳 融 ■●輻麟 ・︱ 粛 国 ●新機 ●■ ｒ ・． ● ●︐■一 ︲ ヽ総 ＝ ■■ ●ｔ ︱． いおい ●´＾ ︱ ︐ ︐ ︐ ヽ ● ■■ Who sat silently in the back of the class. That I too sometimes An afraid and can only pray For the courage I lack To shnd skong and not sway. Understand That as I write this poem In the hopes that you will see the real me Vieques is scorche4 the land 'ivhere Star-spangled rockeb' red glare Where a fishermerfs living dies in the sea Where mothers and their children Die of cancer, in despair Crying out for our help,. For anyone who cares As NAVY bombs bursting Conhminate the air. A subversive? I am just a Puerto Rican woman who dares t9 �To be free. YourWayWithWords A Puerto Rican woman from the Bronx Who.loves IiIe and humanity. A Puerto Rican woman with vision Your words come to me Who can seem all dre possibilities. entering my pores A Puerto Rican woman like bolb of lightening Who loves her people and her culture, from dishnt ancient skies. Who believes in God and Divine Justice And freedom for Your words vibrate with All people and familiar understandings, Who like her Puerto Rican foremothers show me the way to the unknown, Cannot conceive the idea of ever turning back. bathe me in mystical moonlighf out of the darkness to look me in the eye, remind me we are never alone. Pa'lante! Fuera la Marina de Vieques! Your words teach me bravery, Ni una bomba mas! naked huth shimmering in dre rain, dearuing me of fear, leaving me forever changed. Your words are an open horizon, a landscape I have never seen, rainbows bursting fantastic colors of secret untold dreams. Your words walk hand in hand with my thoughh. Your words echo in my mind. Your words make their presence known through the power of the sublime. Your words spin me around in cirdes. irspire bombazo rhythms in my heart guide me on the dance floor of your imagination, captivating me from the stalt. 20 �Comin'Down (Freedom Poem for me and all my people) Your words are like precious jewels adorning my poetic mird Have you ever,seen a Boricua crawl up on the ceiling? fiiling me with passion, sparkling and divine. janmirf without rhythm bouncin' to a pathological tune swayin' to the sound of Your words are gifts oppression that greet me in the morning, comin down as it breeds comin' down as it breeds sing me lullabies at night, caress and embrace me, entice me to surrender and not fight psychosis this wonderful feeling of white feet holdin' me down delight. holdin' down my neck oppression cornin' down man hands holdin' me down holdin down my neck ″ ′ oppression. comin' down as it breeds comin' down as it breeds psychosis ヽ′ now will you excuse me while i have this newous breakdown ヽ´ please excuse me while i scream as i watch gry brgken aBerican dream turn into shit excuse me while i play with my own �they lied to us to make sure i'm still alive excuse me while i arswer these voices told us success is the 2.5 drildten family while they cut and tied in clinics and factories these voices jammin' in my head drivin' many a Boricua woman to insanity jammin' without rhythm they lied to us bouncin' to a pathological tune swayin' to dre sound of oppression comin' down opened our veiru to pour as it breeds Iifeless firrehead on cold tile floor ttrey seduced us with white lady the stench oI deattr in back alleys comin' down as it breeds no longer needing bullets psychosis ropes and white hooded raids we feed ourselves their poisons you see watch our babies die of AIDS they stole our grandmothers raped them they lied to us ripped out their tongues , forced them to swallow religious bile you see watched them dry heave down on their 'knees .hedefiled my hairless vulva fondled my unlormed breasb you see told me to say ten Hail Mary's they took our iand and sent me on my way sold our baby girls and boys cashated our men y el otro slit open black bellies robbed the fiuit of my innocence at the ripe age of nineteen they lied to us smiled and iaughed as he defecated on my girlhood dreams showed us a Norman Rockwell painting said, "This too can be yours." and you then let us drown in the misery of poverry ' you skip me with your eyes 21 �turn my poetry into somethin' obscene turn my tib and ass into entrees food for your fantasies my songs of fteddom bouncin' off white walls locked in the quiet room singing songs of freedom and you as you feed me white pills you scribble out my salvation on two pieces of paper no pillow to rest my head on one piece four fee no human touch on the other the word lithium all alone 1200 milligrams to silence me no human voice but my own to make my mind sleep no sPace see me now can't even piss and shit in peace a ghost plunge into the abyss of sleepless nighe watch me now see how i [o insane no Peace no sunlight no air no air no sunlight whiセ PlL only despair Whitt Pills witt two refib white hands holdin' my head back white fingers pinchin' my nose white halls white pills fallinl down my tluoat walkin' up and down to silence me white halls to make my mind sleep walkin' up and down nothin' but white walls and white gowns and white pills to silence me to make my mind sleep so now...now that ya done fucked with my head drove me into the mania of the oppressed ya gonna try.and mentally incarcerate me 8a8 me label me but i haven't slept in weeks skip me of my identity andifall,ifall bury me alive deeper into psychosis the stigma of mental illness tJre stigma of oppression 26 27 �that breeds psychosis mis muertos comin' down that breeds bppression chains breakin' well the mental health/prison iomplex indusby can kiss my black pderto riLan asi because you can'tjail theispirit though i done lost my mind butnot my faith you done raped and beatme, hied to kill me Iocked me up and threw away 0re k'ey but my soul is an ancient bufterfly born to be fee breakin' chairs white walls prison walls comin'down comin' down comin'down. see these tears cominl down baby giri tears comin' down lke rain comir/ down ' tears of lightening cominl down tears of thunder comirt' down tears of fire comin' down OYA comin' down because what goes aroirnd the wind blows around and the time is comin' down for me and all my people tq be free the time is comirt' down for white walls to fall the time is comirt' down to snuff out self hate and brown on brown rape the time is comin' down to see colonialiim in its gravb mis muertos comin' down that's right, my ancestors comin' down mis muertos comin' down 28 29 �Creating policies of hypocrisy CORPORATE TEVIATHAN (for the innocenb / born and unborn) And while the rich and privileged Nameless smiling faces live large in safe and clean places Why must there be so much disparity? And with such abundance Why must our children go thirsty? The clock ticks as they sit packed in and conlined How will they iearn how to thinl critically to quesiion authority? Not taught but trained to follow orders Pledge allegiance to a Republic more concerned With building prisons than schools More concerned with producing weapors Radicals of the Sixties / now the caretakers of Aristocracy Itt the philosophy that i(s "Okay'' to oppress So long as you "claim' to be fighting for social justice. In the CORPORATE LEVIATHAN of this New Age The Dawn of a whole people enslaved If we do nothing. In the CORPORATE LEVIATHAN of this New Age The Dawn of a race of CHILD SLAVES In prison grays / in prison grays MADEINTHEUSA iI fie do nothing. Than books of knowledge Less that one percent of us makes it past college lVhat conspiracy theory? This IS realiiy It ain't no secret thatTHEY / want to lock up our children And throw away the key / Feei the irrgency In public policy / seems that schools are a liabilig But prisons a thriving industry Our children are not just FAILED but JAILED Systematically quite ruthlessiy By a society motivated by greed and money Creating monopolies of resources along class and color lines Education to make the masses biind Schooling to assimilate not liberate Progressive masks to disguise the race and class hate Smiling wide as they annihilate ∞ 31 �too well to this madness Boomerang so you turn away dorit want to face the pain today oppression on the outside oppression externalized dort't worry baby the oppression you were forced to internalize / will externa[ze let me paint a pichre some how / some way of me with my eyes half closed and when it does and you / so far away i'll be there won't you come be with me? to stand as midwife care to co-depend today? as you rebirth yourselJ come dance with me cuz going insane is a collective process the me who I used to be and isolation is counter revolutionary come dance the hilf-closed-eye madness need not be a solitary journey crazy black girl shuIlle in fact / we need to externalize this wretched internalized oppression oppression on the outside as a co'mmunity oppression externalized if we're gonna be the libertory force mood swinging to ideation of suicide we need to be / a force that is lethal can't take this pain no more not individually but as a people going insane once more and the Spirit world is the only world to respond when I implore cuz it seems I'm alone in this even though going insane is a.collecfive process but you don't want to see yourself in me you seek pleasure / not sadness dort't want to admit / you relate we need io be gciing crdzy cuz madness is the road to revolutionary consciousness word is bond litr<e Assata Shakur said it's the shong ones who are crazy the weak ones iust go along like Albizu said when the sazy ones are ready to die for their freedom' �on my Mothe/s face it will mean they have regained their reason and capitalism ain't the way if we go the road of materialist individualism we'll be selling our souls like Faust like sister Audre Lorde said the master's tools will never desboy the master's house let me paint a piciure of as she helplessly watched her baby go crazy let me paint a picture severed flesh / shredded skin bleeding puss encrusted / enllamed internalized rage / externalized and you can't deny that you're no different than me oppression on the outside cuz we're all a part of this dysfunctional human family you can't hide internalized oppression wi'Jr Hillfiger and of oppression extbrnalized Versace me dead skin you ain't no dilferent than me falling off my body in flakes hair matted eyes crus ty hands shaking ass rusty cuz you didn't hatch out of an egg / and just be just cuz you go around suriling / laughing / lookiag beautiful don't mean drat you're happy how can you be when you ain't fiee? iime for us all to face our demons Now just how in the he1l was I supposed to color coordinate? that's what oppression looks like on tle outside when it hangs / yes hangs on the outside cuz my soul got lost in the routine in trying to achieve the American dream and this abshact thing / like a boil bursting suddenly / was all over the place externalized oppression reflected in the look of terror 34 temove oul masks i(s a mafter of survival time for us all to confront our seU hate self desbuction and denial before it's too late cuz while we continue to feign pretending everything is alright those in power will continue to reign so you might as well just let it hang lest it continue to drain you of your essence x5 �sulrender to self love and the knowledge that the universe will support our complete liberation and independence and the annihiiation of our enemy's power over us generation upon generation breeding manilesh tion upon manileStation producing an oppressive reality barbwire lining our horizoru,.. soru and daughters of Zion cuz captivity is conhary to nature in the universe there ain't no boundaries every child was born to be free now let me explain to you Fanon's theory as my tongue refuses to go weary too much truth to tell so let me teilit well and so we perfect the.art of going insane and we furn.on each other like rats in a laboratory elperiment gone Right now hold tight cuz just as the oppressed is about to self-destouct Boomerang it gets thrown to us by the massa / the oppressoi subjector of all this madness perpehator of crimes agairut humanity assassinator / weaver of poverty just when you thought allwas lost ' Boomerang turns back on the oppressor heads straightfor the source the Ruling classes Boomerang it hits us and we internaiize all the pain which manifests into shime . the erulavers of the masses 'till we loose our minds So Revolution needs to.be about forgefting our own names collective action and Boomerang collective madness it hie us wrapping chain upon chain and tha(s why we need to be going 'round our minds and we intemaiize we inhale all the lies sazy So go crazy. 36 37 �A Nο たね Fみ ιR Tears of the Tiger5 ′′ ″ (For Tio, Te quiero mucho...) The term " Marine Tiger" or "Marintirya" refers to the derogatory name given to Puerto Ricans who came to the United States in the late 40's and early 50's on the SS Marine Tiger, a US Naval warship which was used as a hansport for Puerto Ricans after WWIL These Puerto Ricans constituted what is known as the Great Wave; when migration to the mainland was at ib peak under the direction Governor Luis Munoz Marin's "Operation Bootshap. Operation Boobhap was ah economic boom and depopulation plan for the island, the main objective being the strategic removal of thousands of unemployed Puerto Ricans, This was achieved by sterilazion of Puerto Rican women (see the documentary "La Operaci6n) and the forced removal of Puerto Ricans who in turn came to the United States (see the documentary "Operation Bootshap), Shamefully, the already established Puerto Ricans lidiculed the newly anived, calling them jibaros and "Marintayas". This poem is attempts to tell a part of our history. of The song incorporated into the poem, "Marintaya" was by written by Pachito Riset and recorded in 1946. This poem is dedicated to my beloved uncle Felix Rosario. Descanse en Paz. I'd here the song again and again in my mind haunting sad like the cold winds of change blowing reminding me that we are in the dead of winter the ground fiozen our past buried but I'd hear the song and it would remind me remind me to write the poem which I kept forgetting Iorgetting to write the poein I knew I must write before the spirit of song escaped my memory before I'd forget ifs melancholy story But I'd hear the song again and again haunting me reminding me of the past buried deep within tie ice cold earth 38 3S �but living looking foi sense of home and brotherhood like the seed Iives to birth itself in the spring but instead they were greeted by the cruel laughter of los que llevan muchos afros aqui like the caterpillar lives in the cocoon to one day manifest glorious butterfly wings y toditos se ien de mi But it is deep pain looking for bro therhood that I feel as Tio sings but finding cold stares of a cold story on Barrio corners deep seeded in shame where they stood alive in the vital mind of el viejito negrito having already made each chord coated in pain thqfrightening hip from the waterfront downtown Maintaya Marintaya Up from Puerto Rico Up fiom the harbor Mis lvrmanos me llaman asi to cold Nueva York sheeh the dark story of thd many thousands They came. who came They came every 14 days Tio said Me uen pobre like cattle they came. looking for dreams Me uen lriste All year 'round they came. And in winter they wore nothing but wom guayaberas, thin shawls, Panama hab and white shoes they were told they would find streeb of gold They came young and old but found only the cold and poverty like lost flocks of birds but finding misery to shiver in the cold y toditos se ien fumi on cold banio corners 40 1l �Born Bronxefla where the children of the unfeeling Puerto Ricans . the assimilated - the established threw rocks and called them names Jibaro! Marintaya! Oye Marintaya! My lile has been a series of endless circles Understanding born out of pain into consciousness Rainbow wings never shielded my heart fiom muted tears My life has been a series of endless circles Where I have spiraled backward and forward From deep dark abysses of ancient feals into stalbulsts My life has bem a series of endless circles The tears of the Tigers are now fiozm like their bones in St. Raymond's Cemetery in the Bronx or Calvary in Queens where graves were offered cheap to the lost children of La Isla Borinquen. Understanding born out of pain into consciousness ., Born Bronxeia I had no choice But to learn How to survive. And I learned That even in the The tears of the lost Tigers still fall like the falling lgst aguaceros Darkest times, of lost dreams You will find it. like the lost story of our forced hagic Exodus lost [ke their names lost to aruresia the amnesia of shame . . . .Malintaya, Marintaya And that the rays Of most majestic Mis hermanos me llaman asi And pmehate Me ven pobre, Me ven histe The darkest of sewers. If you look for the Sun Rainbows Rain down To reach y toditos se rien de mi lNo me importa que me llaman asi! lPuerto Rico no time bandera! ;Ay, Bendito! iQue serd de mi? iPuerto Rico no tiene bandera! 1Ay Borinquen! ;Que seri de ti? 42 43 �Never Fear the Skies Bronx native, Mariposa (born Maria Teresa FernAndez de Rosario) is a performance artist, free-lance wdter, educator and Never fear the skies human righb activisl Known for her confrontational style, she For God gave us these wings has rocked audiences with her brand of spoken word poetsy We were born to fly so since 1989 in such venues as the Nuyorican Poets Ca(€, Tramps, Never fear the skies instead reach high and shetch tle canvas of your mind Beyond the possibilities that lay on the horizon Never fear the skies The Joseph Papp Public Theater, The Cotton Club, Irving Plaza and C.B.G.B.'s in NYC. El Instituto de Cultula Puertoriquena en Viejo San Juan, Puerto Rico and over 100 colleges and universities tfuoughout the United States. Mariposa's poeEy is For God gave us these wings featured in Americanos: Latino Life ir.r the U.S., a docunentary produced by Edward James Olmos (Olmos Productions) and Time Wamer which. premiered on HBO in May 2000 and fehtuies the likes of Carlos Sanhna, Tito Puente, Amigos de la Plena, The Taco Poeb and EI Vez. Mariposa has written articles tor Urban,Iatino Magazirc and has had her poetry published in New York Newsday.i El.Nucoo Dia, Hunt's Point Aliw! Vieques 'The Tines, AIIA! Hispanic Arls News, Rtsislanu in Paradise, Drum Voices Vol. 23 and What's lJp Magazine. Mariposa is a Poet-in- Residence at Thg Bronx Writerc Center, Teachers & Writers Collaborahve, The Caribbean CulturaI Center, Poets. & Writers and Poets House. She's led poefy workshops in elementary schools, public high schools, libraries, prisons and senior citizen centers throughout NYC. An accourp[shed scholar, she has a B.A. in Womyn's Studies and a M.A. in Special Education from New York University: la 79W she was granted "Lo Mejor de Nuesba Comunidad" award by The Puerto Rican Herihge Planning Committee in NfC for her poem "0de to the DiaspoRican." In 1999 she was iwarded The Van Lier Fellowship for her poetry by tle Bronx Council on the ArLs, Mariposa is a 2nd degree Reiki practitioner. She resides in her Patria...The Bronx. 44 46 �The Bronx Writers' Center, a program of the Bronx Council on the futs, is devoted to the Professional and artistic development of Bronx writers, and to expanding audiences for literature in the Bronx. Housed at the Westchester Square Branch of the New York Public Libmry, the Centei.serves as a quiet space for writers in all gerues to work, research, attend workshops and readings, and sby connected to the literary In addition, both conimunity while developing thet established.and emerging writers are engaged in creating new programs that serve the community'at-large, as well as aid in cnfl the development of tleir own careers. The Bronx Council on the Arts (BCA), a private, non'profit membership organization, is the officially desiSnated cultural agency of Broru Coun$, providing cultural services and arb piograms to a multi-cultural constituency. The mjssion of BCA !o .n outug. and provide the ureans to increase the Communi$'s awareness and participation in the Arb; nurture i, professional development of perfoming, visual and literary artisg and arLs organizations; and generate suPPo and participation from all funding sources, including business, government and individuals Sね :′ r″ d by ttt N′ The Bronx Writers' Gnter is su ″ο "brκ Council on tlu Arls' Lileratute lrogtan, tlx National Endowment ロr l ,1 : ο 聯 ! r Ih̀ A r t, !旋 Nω York C il y De ν r C● I ̀ ̀ ̀α Yὸ漱 f″ Ǹ″ ly Deoelgpflt 4 Yo 1カ θ Go ″ 1 α 71 ! D′ ′ ̀ げ α : y Bο a r d ヴE 敵 ca 1 t0 ,1 リ ′tt′ ″′α I usti鴫 E げ￨ υ′れ : N υγO/k Cο ′ S: " υ!υ IS: 0 , り T′ s :′ げB il " ν al E山 S′ ! ! y Vα :: 04 u S Lセ γF " "′ ●:″ ′ Foundati 0 L G″ ′ " ′げ物 B″ ′rs B oο ks ̀ 汁 A r:た γ M B た勲 y Founda ″り■ N ′ γο 仙 C " "′ a"′ 0ル rre4 19 ′BOrO 」 P″ siル !ル α ■ ′ "山 ̀6 Gο "v Fο li"′ S. BCA A々 。 L● ″ z Prω !"ο a4Mα ル o 勲 " !α :υ ! ̀ "レ "α 46 �� Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Mariposa Fernández Papers Description An account of the resource Mariposa María Teresa Fernández (1971–) is a Puerto Rican poet and performance artist born and raised in The Bronx. She was the first in her family to graduate from college, having earned a BA and MA at New York University. Mariposa's poetry, which often intertwines Spanish and English lines, meditates on empowerment, identity, family, all through a Bronx lens. Mariposa has authored Born Bronxeña: Poems on Identity, Love & Survival (2001) and is featured in multiple anthologies. Her work has also appeared on a variety of programs produced for HBO, PBS, Lifetime TV, and BET, and she has performed for the United Nations World Conference Against Racism, the Essence Music Festival, and the Black Enterprise Women of Power Summit. Mariposa is an accomplished educator and has also worked towards women's empowerment through a variety of outlets. Her honors include a Van Lier Fellowship, an El Comité Noviembre’s Lo Mejor de Nuestra Comunidad Award, and recognition from the nonprofit El Maestro. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Fernández, Mariposa Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1978–2020 Language A language of the resource English Spanish Type The nature or genre of the resource Mixed-media collection Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context MS-FERNANDEZ Archival Folder Folder from an archival collection. Series If a new series of a periodical, note here. Series 2: Writings by Mariposa Box # Box number for archival folder. 1 Folder/Item # Folder/item # 23 Text Any textual data included in the document ~ ́ ‐ ′ ‐ ヽ ● ヽ`ヽ Born Bronxena Poems on Identity, Survival, Love & Freedom it{ariposa Bronxefra Books Brom, New York Gover Design I orlg nal Arlwork By mellesol Acknowledgeaents Much thanks to The Bronx Council on the Arts and The Bronx Writers' Center, especially Leslie Shipman, Laurie Palmieri and Bill Aguado. Thank you for all of your support and encouragement, and for all the hard work you do to make sure that art and culture continue to thrive in the Brpnx. I'd like to also acknowledge my beautiful family and a1l the poetic inspirations ir my Iile especially the late great Marc Crawford, melleSOl, Teresa Lynn Rivera, Deriree Rivera, Joseph Rivera, Esperanza Martell, Rev, Pedro Piehi, Carmen Pielri, Lois GriJfith, Pepe, Julio, Willie Perdomo, Sandra Maria Esteves, Jesus Papoleto Melendez, Stephanie Agosto, Suzana Cabaflas, Franl Perez, Sonia Gonazlez, Rosie Perez, Anita Rivera, Sandra Garcia Rivera, Welfare Poets, Erica & Melinda Gonzalez, Angel Rodriguez, Universes, Marlyn Malias, Danny Hoch, Satah Jones, Arthur Aviles, Charles Rice Gonzalez, Eddie Pagan, Sery Colon, Luki and all the rest. You know you are, I'm truiy biessed. There too many beautifuL peopie in my iife too list here. All Praises due to the Great Spiritl Bofl Bronxefia.Second Edihon. Mariposa @ 2001 Repruited with the permission of Sistahs Underground Publicatioru, Al1 rights reserved. Plinted in the Bron"rl No part of this book may be reproduced rn any manner whatsoever without written permission of the author except in Lhe case 0f brief quotations.embodied in critical arlicles and reviews. For hlormahon piease contact the Bronx Council on the Arts or Mariposa at hemenda@ frnai o lt1 Bronxeia Books, a program ofThe Bronx Writers' Center and the Bronx Council on the Ars, publishes emerging uban writers in chapbook torm.. Brontefi Bookscurrently publishes the work of Van Li0r Fellows. The name Bronxefra is a gift to the Bronx Writer's Center from Mariposa. The Van Lier Literary Fellowshlp O Resiilency Program is an annual Fellowship that provides an opportunity for three literary artisb under the age of to receive a $7,000 grint to focus on their deveiopm as a writer, both piofessionally and'artistically. Previous recipients include Sarah Jones, Nelly Ros Angie Cruz, Suheir Hammad and Antirony DeMo This publiution is made possible by the799912000 Lier Literary Fellowship 0 Residency, fundedby th Edward and Sally Van Liei Fund of the New York Community Trust. ′ ̈`: This, my first chapbook is dedicated to the Poet in me still skuggling.to be free, to the Soul of the Bronx and to Mami & Daddy. Thank you. I love you. "An artist's expression is fter] soul made apparent, [her] schooling, as well as [her] "cool" being exhibited. Behind every motion, the music of [her] soul is made visible. Otherwise, ftul drotion is empty and erhpty motion E like an emiity word - no meaning," - Masbr Bruce Lee My Mothe/s Eyes - (for Mary FernAndez, mi fuerza, mi vida) My mothels eyes tell a story of powa arid shength of skuggle and grief of a woman's joumey Brown almond eyes set.in a brown oval face and a gaze soft and warm a gaze full of courage raging in the storm My mother's eyes speak to me of survival and secreb yet to be told of pain hidden away of sleepless nighb and lonely days My mothe/s eyes speak magic laughter andjoy and loving life Keeping me steady lvlaking me shong Passing on a legary Ia mujer Boricua rebom La mujer Boricua growing shong La mujer Boricua living on and on.., Haikus for Daddy You always taught me To think for myself and not be an idiot H. Strong silent mountain I ould alwiys count on you Your love was conshnt m. I am your daughter Uke you, a stong tough Bronx kid Determined to win. Ode to the DiaspoRican (pa' mi gente) Mira a mi cara Puertoniquefia Mi pelo vivo Mis manos morenas Mira a mi coraz6n que se llma de orgullo Y di me que no soy Boricua Some people say that I'm not the real thing Boricua, that is cause I wasrft born on the endraned island cause I was born on the mainland nor8r ofSpanish Harlem cause I was bom in the Bronx.., some people think that [m not bonafide .cause my playground was a concrete jungle cause my Rio Grande de Loiza was dre Bronx River cause my Faiardo was Ci$ Island rny Luquillq Orchard Beach and summer nighe were filled with city noises instead of coquis and Puerto Rico was just some paradise that we only saw in pictures. What does it mean to Iive in betwem What does it take to reali'e that being Boricua is a shte of mind a shts of hea* a state of soul... lMira! No nac{ en Puerto Rico Puerto Rico naclo en mi! Miraa面 caraPuerOrnqueia Mi pelo vivo Mis mnos mo“ nas Mira a面 ∞raz6n que se lem“ orgulo Y dilme que no soy 3oricua・ Boricua Duttafly IAnthe Meta-morpha+ized Ihe rebom The living phoenix I{ising up out of the ashes Ofmy conquued people Not the lost Puerto Rican soul in search of identity Not the tsagic Nuyorican in search Of the land of the palm ree Not fragm.ented but whole Not olonized but Free. 一・鱗只 La Navidad con mi Abuela Mi Abuelita preciosa gave us the same gift every year with laughter, tears, joy and pain the giltoflove she gave from her soul the 6ift of love that she made with her arihritic hands, the hands of a garment worker who would not stop giving the love that is still living even drough she is gone. Remembeiing Wela and the best'pasteles in the Bronx... I remember the ritual that lasted weels that began with a trip to Simpson Sheet b buy las verduras. I wish I could watch her hands again grind the yautia, plahno verde y el guineo hmbien I wish I could sit in her kirchen again smell the aroma of sofrito listen to the alguinaldos de Ramito and hear her sing song voice scold me as I sneak pieces of carne y asetuna into my mouth I wish I could hand her el rollo de papel and lvlami y Titi fold and tie and stack dre precious gifc de mi Abuelih I wish I could remember all 0re faces remember all the names of all the people who came on Noche Buenal Iwish I ould be a litde girl again. I wish I could say La Bendici6n just one more time, to feel Abuela's dreek next to mine to relive la Navidad con mi Abuela. t0 It 令はほ鸞・ The Puerto Rican Spirit Flies like a fiery phoenix Sounds like the bomba rhythms of a pasionate heartbeat Looks like the curly brown waves of my hair And smells lile sofrito. Poem for My Grifa-Rican Sistah Or Broken Ends Broken Promises (para mi melliza, Melissa, who endured it with me) Braids trvist and tie onsuain baby naps never to be free braids twist and tie conain / hold in the shame of not havirt' long black silky stands to run my fingers through. Mofros y bobby piru twist and wrap Please forgive me for the sin of not inheriting Papr"s "goo{ hair" moflos y bObby pins twist and wraii ' restrain kinky naps dying to beftee but not the pain of not having a long black silky mane to run my fingers drrough. Clips and ribbons to hold back and tie oppressing baby naps nerrer to be free dips andribbors to hold back and tie imprisoningbaby naps never b have the dignity to be, Chemical relaxers brokm enils / brokm promises activabr and cream 12 t3 ■●■ド● ..1一■・ mixed in with bittemess mix well... the ritual of comb ng / parbng I sectioning the greasing of the scaip / the neck / the forehead / the ears the process / and then the burning / the burning "lt hurts to be beautiful" my mother tells me "Pero mami me PICA!" and then the running / the rururing to water to salvation /to neuhalizer / to broken ends and broken promises... Graduating from Carefree Curl Io Kitry curl / to Revlon / to super duper labulaxer different boxes offering us broken ends and broken promises. "We've come a long way since Dixie Peach." my mother tells me as I sit at the kitchen table' Chemical relaxers to melt away the shame until new growth reminds us that it is time once again for the ritual and the fear of 70's South Bronx Memories I remember the view from the backseat window of my mother's red Nova How could I ever forget the cityscape on the southbound Bronx River Parkway? Flying at filty five miles per hour, passing the mysterious tsees lining the oulskirts of The Bronx Zoo and the Botanical Gardens The sky would open up and you'd see the Bronx stretch its buildings endlessly. Parkchester and Soundview to the left and on the right, the cream colored towers of the a Hun-8Oth Sheet hain station where the 2 and 5 snaked their way to Manhathn with all ils silver skyscrapers looming on the southern skyline. How could I forget the sky? It was always lined with clouds of dark purple smoke And the air smelled of burning wood and rubber. I remember visiting Abuelo on Bryant Avenue in Hun(s Point. His was the only building left standing on that block Where he stood selling piraguas Surrounded by lob of piled brick and garbage. "lt looks like there was a war here Mami." Together we had seen fire late late show World War il movie with Sophia Loren Fighting to stay alive in worn torn Italy. Mami said that she was a litde girl at that time. In El Barrio, where she grew up in the 1940's They'd have air raids and all the little kids Had to hide under their desks at school. "Mami, is there a war going on here?" I remember standing close to her 15 scalp burru and hair loss and the welcoming of broken ends and broken Promises. 14 Licking my cherry piragua Wondering if rab Iurked beneati The mountains of charred brick. I don't ever remember her Answering my question. All I remember is the Sad look of her Silence. The New Downtown Bronx or Headline Bronx News They Forgot to Tell Us About The Bronx Borough President declares the South Bronx will hereby be known forever as the New Downtown Bronx, as The New YorkTimes praises 0re borough as the best "lnner" city in America, as the bohemian young professional offspring of Baby Boomers continue to roll into town seeking to change their lives h the city that never sleeps, as renb continue to go up, as blood continues to stain our streeb as poor people become poorer, as schools fail our children, as prisons overflow, as we ask ourselves, where will we go? as gentilication ttuives in our land as we continue to wihess dre devastation and the perpetuation of 500 years of eviction notices. r6 17 Subversive? I am a single poet Not a word That can be erased From existence, Noramlawoman Who can be Dehumanized By a single word; I am not a label, Nor a loca, Nor a fanatical Radica[. You may see a wanior princes Standing before you but I am just a Puerto Rican girl from the Broru Who one day learned against hu fragile will That het people were not free. Somewhere deep inside she lives. The girl who believed in Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny As she saluted the American flag, Whb cheered on John Wayne and the [.one Ranger Believing it was the Indiaru who were bad. Sourewhere deep inside she lives. The girl who read the Scripture atmass, The girl who prided herself for being obedienf Who sat silently in the back of the class. Somewhere deep irside she lives, But no lonier can she see by the dawn s early [ght What so proudly she once hailed In the land where nothlng is free. Look into my soul and /ou will see Who I really am. Just a thtd gmeration Puerto Rican Bronx born, The daughter of a bodegueto, The gnnddaugher of a phaguero, Descended from los cariduros de FaTardo. Touch my hands and you will know That I too sometimes An afraid and can only pray For the courage I lack To shnd skong and not sway. Understand That as I write this poem In the hopes that you will see the real me Vieques is scorche4 the land 'ivhere Star-spangled rockeb' red glare Where a fishermerfs living dies in the sea Where mothers and their children Die of cancer, in despair Crying out for our help,. For anyone who cares As NAVY bombs bursting Conhminate the air. A subversive? I am just a Puerto Rican woman who dares 18 t9 .・ 粛 国 ●新機 r ・ .● ● ， ■ 一ヽ 総 = t ―‐ ■■●， .，いおい ●■■ ヽ ● ́^ ●■ 一離 t●甕 ●厳融 ・■●輻麟 ― ― ， To be free. YourWayWithWords A Puerto Rican woman from the Bronx Who.loves IiIe and humanity. A Puerto Rican woman with vision Who can seem all dre possibilities. A Puerto Rican woman Who loves her people and her culture, Who believes in God and Divine Justice And freedom for All people and Who like her Puerto Rican foremothers Cannot conceive the idea of ever turning back. Pa'lante! Fuera la Marina de Vieques! Ni una bomba mas! Your words come to me out of the darkness to look me in the eye, entering my pores like bolb of lightening from dishnt ancient skies. Your words vibrate with familiar understandings, show me the way to the unknown, bathe me in mystical moonlighf remind me we are never alone. Your words teach me bravery, naked huth shimmering in dre rain, dearuing me of fear, leaving me forever changed. Your words are an open horizon, a landscape I have never seen, rainbows bursting fantastic colors of secret untold dreams. Your words walk hand in hand with my thoughh. Your words echo in my mind. Your words make their presence known through the power of the sublime. Your words spin me around in cirdes. irspire bombazo rhythms in my heart guide me on the dance floor of your imagination, captivating me from the stalt. 20 Your words are like precious jewels adorning my poetic mird fiiling me with passion, sparkling and divine. Your words are gifts that greet me in the morning, sing me lullabies at night, caress and embrace me, entice me to surrender and not fight this wonderful feeling of delight. ′′′ Comin'Down (Freedom Poem for me and all my people) Have you ever,seen a Boricua crawl up on the ceiling? janmirf without rhythm bouncin' to a pathological tune swayin' to the sound of oppression comin down as it breeds comin' down as it breeds psychosis white feet holdin' me down holdin' down my neck oppression cornin' down man hands holdin' me down holdin down my neck oppression. comin' down as it breeds comin' down as it breeds psychosis now will you excuse me while i have this newous breakdown please excuse me while i scream as i watch gry brgken aBerican dream turn into shit excuse me while i play with my own ヽ′ ヽ ́ to make sure i'm still alive excuse me while i arswer these voices these voices jammin' in my head jammin' without rhythm bouncin' to a pathological tune swayin' to dre sound of oppression comin' down as it breeds comin' down as it breeds psychosis you see they stole our grandmothers raped them ripped out their tongues , forced them to swallow religious bile watched them dry heave down on their 'knees you see they took our iand sold our baby girls and boys cashated our men slit open black bellies they lied to us showed us a Norman Rockwell painting said, "This too can be yours." then let us drown in the misery of poverry ' told us success is the 2.5 drildten family while they cut and tied in clinics and factories drivin' many a Boricua woman to insanity they lied to us ttrey seduced us with white lady opened our veiru to pour the stench oI deattr in back alleys Iifeless firrehead on cold tile floor no longer needing bullets ropes and white hooded raids we feed ourselves their poisons watch our babies die of AIDS they lied to us you see .hedefiled my hairless vulva fondled my unlormed breasb told me to say ten Hail Mary's and sent me on my way y el otro robbed the fiuit of my innocence at the ripe age of nineteen smiled and iaughed as he defecated on my girlhood dreams and you you skip me with your eyes 21 they lied to us turn my poetry into somethin' obscene turn my tib and ass into entrees food for your fantasies and you you scribble out my salvation on two pieces of paper on one piece four fee on the other the word lithium 1200 milligrams to silence me to make my mind sleep see me now a ghost plunge into the abyss of sleepless nighe watch me now see how i [o insane whiセ PlL Whitt Pills witt two refib white halls walkin' up and down white halls walkin' up and down nothin' but white walls and white gowns and white pills to silence me to make my mind sleep but i haven't slept in weeks andifall,ifall deeper into psychosis my songs of fteddom bouncin' off white walls locked in the quiet room singing songs of freedom as you feed me white pills no pillow to rest my head no human touch all alone no human voice but my own no sPace can't even piss and shit in peace no Peace no sunlight no air no air no sunlight only despair white hands holdin' my head back white fingers pinchin' my nose white pills fallinl down my tluoat to silence me to make my mind sleep so now...now that ya done fucked with my head drove me into the mania of the oppressed ya gonna try.and mentally incarcerate me 8a8 me label me skip me of my identity bury me alive the stigma of mental illness tJre stigma of oppression 26 27 that breeds psychosis that breeds bppression well the mental health/prison iomplex indusby can kiss my black pderto riLan asi because you can'tjail theispirit though i done lost my mind butnot my faith you done raped and beatme, hied to kill me Iocked me up and threw away 0re k'ey but my soul is an ancient bufterfly born to be fee see these tears cominl down baby giri tears comin' down lke rain comir/ down ' tears of lightening cominl down tears of thunder comirt' down tears of fire comin' down OYA comin' down because what goes aroirnd the wind blows around and the time is comin' down for me and all my people tq be free the time is comirt' down for white walls to fall the time is comirt' down to snuff out self hate and brown on brown rape the time is comin' down to see colonialiim in its gravb mis muertos comin' down that's right, my ancestors comin' down mis muertos comin' down mis muertos comin' down chains breakin' breakin' chairs white walls prison walls comin'down comin' down comin'down. 28 29 CORPORATE TEVIATHAN (for the innocenb / born and unborn) And while the rich and privileged Nameless smiling faces live large in safe and clean places Why must there be so much disparity? And with such abundance Why must our children go thirsty? The clock ticks as they sit packed in and conlined How will they iearn how to thinl critically to quesiion authority? Not taught but trained to follow orders Pledge allegiance to a Republic more concerned With building prisons than schools More concerned with producing weapors Than books of knowledge Less that one percent of us makes it past college lVhat conspiracy theory? This IS realiiy It ain't no secret thatTHEY / want to lock up our children And throw away the key / Feei the irrgency In public policy / seems that schools are a liabilig But prisons a thriving industry Our children are not just FAILED but JAILED Systematically quite ruthlessiy By a society motivated by greed and money Creating monopolies of resources along class and color lines Education to make the masses biind Schooling to assimilate not liberate Progressive masks to disguise the race and class hate Smiling wide as they annihilate Creating policies of hypocrisy Radicals of the Sixties / now the caretakers of Aristocracy Itt the philosophy that i(s "Okay'' to oppress So long as you "claim' to be fighting for social justice. In the CORPORATE LEVIATHAN of this New Age The Dawn of a whole people enslaved If we do nothing. In the CORPORATE LEVIATHAN of this New Age The Dawn of a race of CHILD SLAVES In prison grays / in prison grays MADEINTHEUSA iI fie do nothing. ∞ 31 Boomerang oppression on the outside oppression externalized let me paint a pichre of me with my eyes half closed and you / so far away won't you come be with me? care to co-depend today? come dance with me the me who I used to be come dance the hilf-closed-eye crazy black girl shuIlle oppression on the outside oppression externalized mood swinging to ideation of suicide can't take this pain no more going insane once more and the Spirit world is the only world to respond when I implore cuz it seems I'm alone in this even though going insane is a.collecfive process but you don't want to see yourself in me you seek pleasure / not sadness dort't want to admit / you relate too well to this madness so you turn away dorit want to face the pain today dort't worry baby the oppression you were forced to internalize / will externa[ze some how / some way and when it does i'll be there to stand as midwife as you rebirth yourselJ cuz going insane is a collective process and isolation is counter revolutionary madness need not be a solitary journey in fact / we need to externalize this wretched internalized oppression as a co'mmunity if we're gonna be the libertory force we need to be / a force that is lethal we need io be gciing crdzy not individually but as a people cuz madness is the road to revolutionary consciousness word is bond litr<e Assata Shakur said it's the shong ones who are crazy the weak ones iust go along like Albizu said when the sazy ones are ready to die for their freedom' it will mean they have regained their reason and capitalism ain't the way if we go the road of materialist individualism we'll be selling our souls like Faust like sister Audre Lorde said the master's tools will never desboy the master's house let me paint a piciure of oppression on the outside of oppression extbrnalized me dead skin falling off my body in flakes hair matted eyes crus ty hands shaking ass rusty Now just how in the he1l was I supposed to color coordinate? that's what oppression looks like on tle outside when it hangs / yes hangs on the outside cuz my soul got lost in the routine in trying to achieve the American dream and this abshact thing / like a boil bursting suddenly / was all over the place externalized oppression reflected in the look of terror on my Mothe/s face as she helplessly watched her baby go crazy let me paint a picture severed flesh / shredded skin bleeding puss encrusted / enllamed internalized rage / externalized and you can't deny that you're no different than me cuz we're all a part of this dysfunctional human family you can't hide internalized oppression wi'Jr Hillfiger and Versace you ain't no dilferent than me cuz you didn't hatch out of an egg / and just be just cuz you go around suriling / laughing / lookiag beautiful don't mean drat you're happy how can you be when you ain't fiee? iime for us all to face our demons temove oul masks i(s a mafter of survival time for us all to confront our seU hate self desbuction and denial before it's too late cuz while we continue to feign pretending everything is alright those in power will continue to reign so you might as well just let it hang lest it continue to drain you of your essence 34 x5 sulrender to self love and the knowledge that the universe will support our complete liberation and independence and the annihiiation of our enemy's power over us cuz captivity is conhary to nature in the universe there ain't no boundaries every child was born to be free now let me explain to you Fanon's theory as my tongue refuses to go weary too much truth to tell so let me teilit well Boomerang it gets thrown to us by the massa / the oppressoi subjector of all this madness perpehator of crimes agairut humanity assassinator / weaver of poverty Boomerang it hits us and we internaiize all the pain which manifests into shime 'till we loose our minds forgefting our own names Boomerang it hie us wrapping chain upon chain 'round our minds and we intemaiize we inhale all the lies generation upon generation breeding manilesh tion upon manileStation producing an oppressive reality barbwire lining our horizoru,.. soru and daughters of Zion and so we perfect the.art of going insane and we furn.on each other like rats in a laboratory elperiment gone Right now hold tight cuz just as the oppressed is about to self-destouct just when you thought allwas lost ' Boomerang turns back on the oppressor heads straightfor the source the Ruling classes . the erulavers of the masses So Revolution needs to.be about collective action and collective madness and tha(s why we need to be going sazy So go crazy. 36 37 A NοたねFみιR“′′′′ The term " Marine Tiger" or "Marintirya" refers to the derogatory name given to Puerto Ricans who came to the United States in the late 40's and early 50's on the SS Marine Tiger, a US Naval warship which was used as a hansport for Puerto Ricans after WWIL These Puerto Ricans constituted what is known as the Great Wave; when migration to the mainland was at ib peak under the direction of Governor Luis Munoz Marin's "Operation Bootshap. Operation Boobhap was ah economic boom and depopulation plan for the island, the main objective being the strategic removal of thousands of unemployed Puerto Ricans, This was achieved by sterilazion of Puerto Rican women (see the documentary "La Operaci6n) and the forced removal of Puerto Ricans who in turn came to the United States (see the documentary "Operation Bootshap), Shamefully, the already established Puerto Ricans lidiculed the newly anived, calling them jibaros and "Marintayas". This poem is attempts to tell a part of our history. The song incorporated into the poem, "Marintaya" was by written by Pachito Riset and recorded in 1946. This poem is dedicated to my beloved uncle Felix Rosario. Descanse en Paz. Tears of the Tiger5 (For Tio, Te quiero mucho...) I'd here the song again and again in my mind haunting sad like the cold winds of change blowing reminding me that we are in the dead of winter the ground fiozen our past buried but I'd hear the song and it would remind me remind me to write the poem which I kept forgetting Iorgetting to write the poein I knew I must write before the spirit of song escaped my memory before I'd forget ifs melancholy story But I'd hear the song again and again haunting me reminding me of the past buried deep within tie ice cold earth 38 3S but living like the seed Iives to birth itself in the spring like the caterpillar lives in the cocoon to one day manifest glorious butterfly wings But it is deep pain that I feel as Tio sings of a cold story deep seeded in shame alive in the vital mind of el viejito negrito each chord coated in pain Maintaya Marintaya Mis lvrmanos me llaman asi the dark story of thd many thousands who came Me uen pobre looking for dreams but finding misery Me uen lriste they were told they would find streeb of gold but found only the cold and poverty y toditos se ien fumi looking foi sense of home and brotherhood but instead they were greeted by the cruel laughter of los que llevan muchos afros aqui y toditos se ien de mi looking for bro therhood but finding cold stares on Barrio corners where they stood having already made thqfrightening hip from the waterfront downtown Up from Puerto Rico Up fiom the harbor to cold Nueva York sheeh They came. They came every 14 days Tio said like cattle they came. All year 'round they came. And in winter they wore nothing but wom guayaberas, thin shawls, Panama hab and white shoes They came young and old like lost flocks of birds to shiver in the cold 40 1l on cold banio corners where the children of the unfeeling Puerto Ricans . - the assimilated the established threw rocks and called them names Jibaro! Marintaya! Oye Marintaya! The tears of the Tigers are now fiozm like their bones in St. Raymond's Cemetery in the Bronx or Calvary in Queens where graves were offered cheap to the lost children of La Isla Borinquen. The tears of the lost Tigers still fall like the falling lgst aguaceros of lost dreams like the lost story of our forced hagic Exodus lost [ke their names lost to aruresia the amnesia of shame . . . .Malintaya, Marintaya Mis hermanos me llaman asi Me ven pobre, Me ven histe y toditos se rien de mi lNo me importa que me llaman asi! lPuerto Rico no time bandera! ;Ay, Bendito! iQue serd de mi? iPuerto Rico no tiene bandera! 1Ay Borinquen! ;Que seri de ti? 42 Born Bronxefla My lile has been a series of endless circles Understanding born out of pain into consciousness Rainbow wings never shielded my heart fiom muted tears My life has been a series of endless circles Where I have spiraled backward and forward From deep dark abysses of ancient feals into stalbulsts My life has bem a series of endless circles Understanding born out of pain into consciousness ., Born Bronxeia I had no choice But to learn How to survive. And I learned That even in the Darkest times, If you look for the Sun You will find it. And that the rays Of most majestic Rainbows Rain down To reach And pmehate The darkest of sewers. 43 Never Fear the Skies Never fear the skies For God gave us these wings We were born to fly so Never fear the skies instead reach high and shetch tle canvas of your mind Beyond the possibilities that lay on the horizon Never fear the skies For God gave us these wings Bronx native, Mariposa (born Maria Teresa FernAndez de Rosario) is a performance artist, free-lance wdter, educator and human righb activisl Known for her confrontational style, she has rocked audiences with her brand of spoken word poetsy since 1989 in such venues as the Nuyorican Poets Ca(€, Tramps, The Joseph Papp Public Theater, The Cotton Club, Irving Plaza and C.B.G.B.'s in NYC. El Instituto de Cultula Puertoriquena en Viejo San Juan, Puerto Rico and over 100 colleges and universities tfuoughout the United States. Mariposa's poeEy is featured in Americanos: Latino Life ir.r the U.S., a docunentary produced by Edward James Olmos (Olmos Productions) and Time Wamer which. premiered on HBO in May 2000 and fehtuies the likes of Carlos Sanhna, Tito Puente, Amigos de la Plena, The Taco Poeb and EI Vez. Mariposa has written articles tor Urban,Iatino Magazirc and has had her poetry published in 44 New York Newsday.i El.Nucoo Dia, Hunt's Point Aliw! Vieques Tines, AIIA! Hispanic Arls News, Rtsislanu in Paradise, Drum Voices Vol. 23 and What's lJp Magazine. Mariposa is a Poet-in- Residence at Thg Bronx Writerc Center, Teachers & Writers Collaborahve, The Caribbean CulturaI Center, Poets. & Writers and Poets House. She's led poefy workshops in elementary schools, public high schools, libraries, prisons and senior citizen centers throughout NYC. An accourp[shed scholar, she has a B.A. in Womyn's Studies and a M.A. in Special Education from New York University: la 79W she was granted "Lo Mejor de Nuesba Comunidad" award by The Puerto Rican Herihge Planning Committee in NfC for her poem "0de to the DiaspoRican." In 1999 she was iwarded The Van Lier Fellowship for her poetry by tle Bronx Council on the ArLs, Mariposa is a 2nd degree Reiki practitioner. She resides in her Patria...The Bronx. 46 'The The Bronx Writers' Center, a program of the Bronx Council on the futs, is devoted to the Professional and artistic development of Bronx writers, and to expanding audiences for literature in the Bronx. Housed at the Westchester Square Branch of the New York Public Libmry, the Centei.serves as a quiet space for writers in all gerues to work, research, attend workshops and readings, and sby connected to the literary conimunity while developing thet cnfl In addition, both established.and emerging writers are engaged in creating new programs that serve the community'at-large, as well as aid in the development of tleir own careers. The Bronx Council on the Arts (BCA), a private, non'profit membership organization, is the officially desiSnated cultural agency of Broru Coun$, providing cultural services and arb piograms to a multi-cultural constituency. The mjssion of BCA i, !o .n outug. and provide the ureans to increase the Communi$'s awareness and participation in the Arb; nurture professional development of perfoming, visual and literary artisg and arLs organizations; and generate suPPo and participation from all funding sources, including business, government and individuals The Bronx Writers' Gnter is su′′οr′′d by ttt N′ "brκ Sね:′ Council on tlu Arls' Lileratute lrogtan, tlx National Endowment rIh`Art,!旋NωYorkCilyDeνロrl“,1:οrC●I ! 聯! 1カ θ Go“′′ D′′α71“ 1 げ " ` `“`α ` ly Deoelgpflt 4 f′′ N`′′ Yο漱 04 uS yVα LセγF“ ′げ物 Yo α`“ヴ“ “:: y Bοard E敵ca1t0,1 υ!υIS:0“ げBil νal E山 " : リ げ| υ′れ: “ γο汁 "′ " “ “ !ル a"′0ルrre4 `6 Gο "v Fο "山 “ ル“ N“υ“γO/k Cο G′′ L ′ 仙S:C勲A r:た γ た勲 。L●′′BCA A々 “ Iusti鴫 E′tt′′′′α S′!! “ "′ " " りT′ s “"““ “B , :′ !α ■ ′α 19“′BOrO“ 」 P`′′siル “ !"ο a4Mα o“ “ "レ li"′ Prω z“ "α“ ““ S. M ` y Founda′′り■ N′:υ 46 ′●:′′′Foundati0 B′′′rsBoοks ! Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Born Bronxeña: Poems on Identity, Survival, Love & Freedom Subject The topic of the resource Fernández, Mariposa Poets and performance artists (The Bronx, New York) Born Bronxeña: Poems on Identity, Survival, Love & Freedom Ethnic groups and nationalities -- Puerto Ricans (Boricuas) Description An account of the resource <div class="item-description">Born Bronxeña: Poems on Identity, Survival, Love &amp; Freedom, a chapbook of poems written by Mariposa Fernández</div> Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Fernández, Mariposa Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Bronxeña Books Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2001 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Chapbook Language A language of the resource English Spanish Type The nature or genre of the resource Archival document Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context MS-FERNANDEZ.001.023 https://digital.bronxhistoricalsociety.org/files/original/6bb88b9c49f560db9acd557ab0de391f.mp4 a14b644c3d39503b9c8c5fcc4fd7810c Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated®, Eta Omega Omega Chapter Records Subject The topic of the resource Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated® Bronx African American History Project Eta Omega Omega Bronx Graduate Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated® Wheeler, Wilson & Johnson Community Projects, Inc. Wheeler, Wilson & Johnson Community Projects, Inc. Description An account of the resource Eta Omega Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated® was chartered on May 23, 1964, by twelve members. The chapter celebrates a rich history of service, philanthropy, and scholarship for the Bronx community. From its inception, programs of service were launched to enhance the quality of life for residents of The Bronx. Specific emphasis was placed on engaging youth, working with developmentally disabled children, and providing services to the elderly.<br /><br />Eta Omega Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated® provides volunteer services to vulnerable and underserved communities. One of the first programs started by the chapter was a garden project at the Southeast Neighborhood Center for developmentally disabled adults. Since then, the chapter has initiated several other service projects, including Impact Days, Earth Day and Akarosa Adopt A Highway beautification initiatives, financial literacy workshops, Alzheimer's awareness projects, mental health support projects, and healthy heart initiatives. The chapter also spearheads the MLK Day of Service project, various toy drives, collaborative Global Impact Day with South Africa and St, Croix members as well as a host of other programs that demonstrate a strong commitment to serving the Bronx community. In addition to serving the community, members also participate in weekly prayer calls, leadership enrichment opportunities, membership and sisterly relations activities that are intergenerational, like book, movie, exercise, and travel clubs. Eta Omega Omega chartered Xi Xi chapter, an undergraduate chapter at Lehman College on June 25, 1983, and members of that chapter have participated in many of the projects.<br /><br />Eta Omega Omega chapter's signature program is the <em>Rites of Passage Mentoring Program</em>. This program provides high school girls with year-long intensive workshops on personal development, ancestral history, interpersonal relations, etiquette, and goal setting. Since 1991 this program has guided young girls towards their transition into womanhood by fostering a sense of responsibility, sisterhood, and self-pride. The chapter will continue the Rites of Passage Program in collaboration with ((#CAP℠), the current administration’s College Admissions Process program ((#CAP℠), designed to assist students in their efforts to enter college.<br /><br />As a result of the work that Eta Omega Omega has done, the chapter has earned many national and international accolades and awards. Some awards earned were Small and Medium Chapter of the Year, the Spirit Award, Membership, Connection, and Star Award for Outstanding Programs. On a regional level, several chapter members have been recognized for their outstanding service in leadership. Members were honored as Basileus of the year, Silver Star of the year, Graduate Advisor of the year, and the Idell Pugh Angel Award.<br /><br />In 1994, the Chapter established a not-for-profit corporation and later changed the name of this corporation to Wheeler, Wilson and Johnson Community Projects, Inc. The corporation was organized exclusively for educational and charitable purposes within Bronx County. Through the foundation the chapter hosts an annual holiday toy drive, leads peace walks, and donates dorm baskets to students leaving for college. In addition, the Chapter annually gives over $10,000 in scholarships to support youth attending two-year, four year, and HBCU colleges.<br /><br />As a large-sized chapter, with 129 members, Eta Omega Omega is one of seventeen exceptional graduate chapters in Cluster III of the Notable North Atlantic Region. Many members have moved up in leadership. Eta Omega Omega members have served as Cluster and Regional Committee Chairman and Cluster Co-Coordinators. Chapter member Soror Joy Elaine Daley has served previously as the North Atlantic Regional Director and currently serves as the International Regional Director.<br /> <p><br />Eta Omega Omega Members continue to exemplify the ideals that Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated^® was founded on well over 110 years ago.&nbsp; Through the direction of our 30th International President, Dr. Glenda Glover, the Chapter has implemented the 2018–2022 International Program under the theme, "Exemplifying Excellence Through Sustainable Service." The International Program includes five program targets designed to advance the mission of Alpha Kappa Alpha with excellence and underscore a commitment to sustainable service.</p> <p>The five program targets for 2018–2022 are:</p> <ol> <li><a>HBCU for Life: A Call to Action</a></li> <li><a>Women's Healthcare and Wellness</a></li> <li><a>Building Your Economic Legacy</a></li> <li><a><em>The Arts!</em></a></li> <li><a>Global Impact</a></li> </ol> <p>In addition, Eta Omega Omega members implement International Community Service Days annually to highlight the organization's collective impact in program target areas:</p> <ul> <li>Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service (January)</li> <li>Pink Goes Red for Heart Health Day (February)</li> <li>AKA Global Impact Day (April)</li> <li>AKA International Day of Prayer (August)</li> <li>AKA HBCU Day (September)</li> <li>Breast Cancer Awareness Day (October)</li> <li>AKA Caregivers' Day (November)</li> </ul> Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated®, Eta Omega Omega Chapter, Donna Joseph, President, Saudah Muhammad, Chapter Historian Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1964–present Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Mixed media collection Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context MS-AKAHOO Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data MP4 Duration Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.) 01:03:26 Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Naison, Mark Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Brown, Jacqueline Everett Interview Format Audio or Video Video Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Bronx African American History Project Oral History with Charter Member Jacqueline Everette Brown Subject The topic of the resource Brown, Jacqueline Everette Bronx African American History Project Eta Omega Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Charter members of Eta Omega Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Description An account of the resource Oral history of Jacqueline Everette Brown, a Charter Member of Eta Omega Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., recorded for the Bronx African American History Project in August 2020. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Brown, Jacqueline Everette Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource August 2020 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource MP4 Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral history Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context MS-AKAHOO.BD.010 https://digital.bronxhistoricalsociety.org/files/original/27357c007fe64351df1f6dbd02088f50.mp4 cc85f272eb091fa427a9fb3a09d42903 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated®, Eta Omega Omega Chapter Records Subject The topic of the resource Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated® Bronx African American History Project Eta Omega Omega Bronx Graduate Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated® Wheeler, Wilson & Johnson Community Projects, Inc. Wheeler, Wilson & Johnson Community Projects, Inc. Description An account of the resource Eta Omega Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated® was chartered on May 23, 1964, by twelve members. The chapter celebrates a rich history of service, philanthropy, and scholarship for the Bronx community. From its inception, programs of service were launched to enhance the quality of life for residents of The Bronx. Specific emphasis was placed on engaging youth, working with developmentally disabled children, and providing services to the elderly.<br /><br />Eta Omega Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated® provides volunteer services to vulnerable and underserved communities. One of the first programs started by the chapter was a garden project at the Southeast Neighborhood Center for developmentally disabled adults. Since then, the chapter has initiated several other service projects, including Impact Days, Earth Day and Akarosa Adopt A Highway beautification initiatives, financial literacy workshops, Alzheimer's awareness projects, mental health support projects, and healthy heart initiatives. The chapter also spearheads the MLK Day of Service project, various toy drives, collaborative Global Impact Day with South Africa and St, Croix members as well as a host of other programs that demonstrate a strong commitment to serving the Bronx community. In addition to serving the community, members also participate in weekly prayer calls, leadership enrichment opportunities, membership and sisterly relations activities that are intergenerational, like book, movie, exercise, and travel clubs. Eta Omega Omega chartered Xi Xi chapter, an undergraduate chapter at Lehman College on June 25, 1983, and members of that chapter have participated in many of the projects.<br /><br />Eta Omega Omega chapter's signature program is the <em>Rites of Passage Mentoring Program</em>. This program provides high school girls with year-long intensive workshops on personal development, ancestral history, interpersonal relations, etiquette, and goal setting. Since 1991 this program has guided young girls towards their transition into womanhood by fostering a sense of responsibility, sisterhood, and self-pride. The chapter will continue the Rites of Passage Program in collaboration with ((#CAP℠), the current administration’s College Admissions Process program ((#CAP℠), designed to assist students in their efforts to enter college.<br /><br />As a result of the work that Eta Omega Omega has done, the chapter has earned many national and international accolades and awards. Some awards earned were Small and Medium Chapter of the Year, the Spirit Award, Membership, Connection, and Star Award for Outstanding Programs. On a regional level, several chapter members have been recognized for their outstanding service in leadership. Members were honored as Basileus of the year, Silver Star of the year, Graduate Advisor of the year, and the Idell Pugh Angel Award.<br /><br />In 1994, the Chapter established a not-for-profit corporation and later changed the name of this corporation to Wheeler, Wilson and Johnson Community Projects, Inc. The corporation was organized exclusively for educational and charitable purposes within Bronx County. Through the foundation the chapter hosts an annual holiday toy drive, leads peace walks, and donates dorm baskets to students leaving for college. In addition, the Chapter annually gives over $10,000 in scholarships to support youth attending two-year, four year, and HBCU colleges.<br /><br />As a large-sized chapter, with 129 members, Eta Omega Omega is one of seventeen exceptional graduate chapters in Cluster III of the Notable North Atlantic Region. Many members have moved up in leadership. Eta Omega Omega members have served as Cluster and Regional Committee Chairman and Cluster Co-Coordinators. Chapter member Soror Joy Elaine Daley has served previously as the North Atlantic Regional Director and currently serves as the International Regional Director.<br /> <p><br />Eta Omega Omega Members continue to exemplify the ideals that Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated^® was founded on well over 110 years ago.&nbsp; Through the direction of our 30th International President, Dr. Glenda Glover, the Chapter has implemented the 2018–2022 International Program under the theme, "Exemplifying Excellence Through Sustainable Service." The International Program includes five program targets designed to advance the mission of Alpha Kappa Alpha with excellence and underscore a commitment to sustainable service.</p> <p>The five program targets for 2018–2022 are:</p> <ol> <li><a>HBCU for Life: A Call to Action</a></li> <li><a>Women's Healthcare and Wellness</a></li> <li><a>Building Your Economic Legacy</a></li> <li><a><em>The Arts!</em></a></li> <li><a>Global Impact</a></li> </ol> <p>In addition, Eta Omega Omega members implement International Community Service Days annually to highlight the organization's collective impact in program target areas:</p> <ul> <li>Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service (January)</li> <li>Pink Goes Red for Heart Health Day (February)</li> <li>AKA Global Impact Day (April)</li> <li>AKA International Day of Prayer (August)</li> <li>AKA HBCU Day (September)</li> <li>Breast Cancer Awareness Day (October)</li> <li>AKA Caregivers' Day (November)</li> </ul> Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated®, Eta Omega Omega Chapter, Donna Joseph, President, Saudah Muhammad, Chapter Historian Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1964–present Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Mixed media collection Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context MS-AKAHOO Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data MP4 Duration Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.) 01:22:26 Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Naison, Mark Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Tanner, Marietta J. Interview Format Audio or Video Video Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Bronx African American History Project Oral History with Charter Member Marietta J. Tanner Subject The topic of the resource Tanner, Marietta J. Eta Omega Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Bronx African American History Project Charter members of Eta Omega Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Description An account of the resource Oral history of Marietta J. Tanner, a Charter Member of Eta Omega Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., recorded for the Bronx African American History Project in July 2020. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Tanner, Marietta J. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource July 2020 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource MP4 Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral history Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context MS-AKAHOO.BD.019