roots – barak adé soleil

she reaches…tree

She reaches

on toes

to touch

hold onto

trees.

#Roots #BlackFutureMonth #BlackIsBold

Mr. Hughes, your roots flow infinite

your roots flow infinite

angels still sing your name

and here on earth

we carry your words in our hearts:

I’ve known rivers:
I’ve known rivers ancient as the world and older than the
     flow of human blood in human veins.

My soul has grown deep like the rivers.

I bathed in the Euphrates when dawns were young.
I built my hut near the Congo and it lulled me to sleep.
I looked upon the Nile and raised the pyramids above it.
I heard the singing of the Mississippi when Abe Lincoln 
     went down to New Orleans, and I’ve seen its muddy 
     bosom turn all golden in the sunset.

I’ve known rivers:
Ancient, dusky rivers.

My soul has grown deep like the rivers.

#BlackIsBold #Roots #TheNegroSpeaksOfRivers #ForMrLangstonHughes

Expressive Roots. Expressing Roots.

Expressive Roots

Expressing Roots.

For Zora. For Alvin. for those who took hold of their roots, dug deep

#BlackIsBold #Roots #ZoraNealeHurston #AlvinAiley

Three of Three For the New Year: #Roots

‪#‎Roots‬ – deeper depths, expansive growth.

Excavating my roots: this is the core of why i began creating work through D UNDERBELLY. i sought to understand culturally who i was. my blackness, my queerness. my ability. i recognize that these “roots” are rich and fertile. they are also massive and weighted. with tenderness, i will cultivate them. allow each one of them to grow deeper into the earth. through time, effort and sustenance – like the tree roots vividly captured by photographer Paul Cannon – they will intertwine, reach out, and form a strong foundation. in union with others, they will ascend and thrive.

#BlackIsBold #ThreeWordChallenge