Beautiful, densely felt, and densely thoughtful braided essay. I appreciate the hard work that goes into this writing. I hear you when you say maybe the rigorous schedule you set out with is going to be too much to sustain, but know that we appreciate what you write. I found your work through the comments section of HCR's Substack.
Karen, thank you for this. You read me exactly as I hoped to be read which is braided, dense, felt. These pieces take more out of me than I like to admit, so hearing that the labor shows up on the page means a whole lot.
I’m glad you found me through Heather’s community. As I’m sure you already know she sets the bar for rigor, and I’ve tried to carry a piece of that into my own lane. Even if I can’t keep the same relentless pace, I promise the work will keep coming as honest and full as I can make it.
Karen, thank you for this. To have you call the essay “braided” and “densely felt” really meant something, because that’s what I was reaching for.
And I’ll be honest, I’m a little worn down right now, so if this reply comes off rough around the edges, forgive me. Knowing you teach creative writing at Penn and founded Cleaver makes your words hit. I mean really really hit. I see you live in this craft, so for you to see and name the labor means a lot.
When I saw your comments on HCR’s Substack, I thought, this man can write! I am glad to have found you there, and for the opportunity to read your words here. I also know how much effort it takes to show up as writer and thinker, crafting essays with solid arguements that keep the reader challenged and engaged. Writing is sweat labor—thank you for this!
Same here. HCR is always one of the first emails I read each morning and this one was MORE than meaningful! What a beautifully written essay. I felt like I took a journey back in time. And most importantly, it gave me the strength to keep fighting this awful situation we have in America right now. I'm 73 and I would never have believed that our country could be where we are now. We have to rise up and fight against these forces. The most disappointing force of all is the supreme court. To watch them take away rights that we fought for decades ago is truly a sin and unforgivable.
Harold, you named it plain man….love as the antidote. That’s the through-line I keep trying to write toward, even when it costs something to get it on the page. Glad you caught that and called it what it is. Appreciate you, good brother.
I love what you’ve written here. I have lived in a state whose Black population is small, and predominantly in its one large city; the music you tell about is not part of my life’s soundtrack.
As one whose love “dare not speak its name”, your descriptions really strike a chord with me. Thank you.
Ally, your words mean a lot to me especially knowing you walk this law enforcement path too. We both know how heavy this work can get, so when you tell me the writing struck a chord, I gotta take that to heart.
I hear what you’re saying about living in a place where Black music wasn’t part of the daily soundtrack. But the fact that you let these stories and sounds reach you anyway lemme say that says something about the kind of heart you carry.
And when you mention a love that “dare not speak its name,” I feel the courage in that. Thank you for trusting me with it, and for always showing up here with encouragement. It keeps me going. Really it does.
I am a white woman who grew up on Motown and rock music of the late 60s! Little Stevie, the Supremes, Temps 4 Tops, the Stones, Beatles, LZ, and many more. What a time to be alive! Most rock music is rooted in the blues. In fact a lot of American culture is influenced by black traditions. You mentioned All you need is love, I’ll add John Lennon’s Imagine. It’s something I think about often. Your writing is thoughtful and from the heart. Thank you 🙏
In black community, church and homes the rules played by others and that govern the rest weren't designed to account for, accommodate, or include us. (That's where and how constitutional ammendment comes to matter) So from time in memoriam we've always had a struggle or a hardship from somewhere and somehow that we've had to find a way, make a way and figure a way out of to keep afloat because there are two realities in America. There's been justice and just us.
Those that have not had to share others footsteps say its not true precisely due to not knowing, not really seeing, not being truthful, not wanting to hear, not caring as long as the same is not their plight.
The American government experiment was created to be expansive, to change, to grow, to flourish but the garden of statehoods that it is in a united bouquet 💐 has deliberately been taken out of water to wither away.
With great photos, lovely writing, relevant song references, and tangential ties to history this essay is a wonderful example of show, don't tell. There's no lecturing just observations. Thank you.
I'm 81, white, English. I Grew up with the Beatles, Dylan, Baez, Michell - their music and, yes, often their leadership. They were the gods of liberalism and socialism. Dylan spoke out last week against Musk's grotesque capitalism, Baez was on a march a few months back. They still care but I think we desperately need a modern day voice to unite people against the current horrors. That someone would have to be talented, charismatic, brave, totally dedicated and committed. Where are you?
This should be a book. This article read like a book. Beautiful poetic and just inspiring. For every tragedy we’ve had in Black America PAC Malcolm X Dr. King this is something we as Americans Black Americans can stand and be proud of. Michelle And Barack Obama are each and every one of us. A representation of what we can be in this country. What was so ironic when Sarah Palin joked he’s a community organizer at the RNC actually drew me to Barack more. Because he did the work. He sat next to me you every American and understood what struggle was and giving back. So I resonated with that. And he undoubtedly had my support. He was our hero before even stepping into the White House. So President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle represented love. They represented black love and it was beautiful. People immediately jump to the race. But seeing President Barack Obama someone who was so candid with us was amazing to see. His calm when dealing with Sandy Hook or Traveon when saying he could have a kid that looked like him. Resonated with Artists who were singing writing rapping about his pain that pained so many black Americans and Americans in general with Travon from Kendrick Lamar to Frank Ocean. President Barack felt and understood the pain. Even now to the podcast how open our First Lady Michelle Obama is with us. It’s beautiful. They still are our voice. When President Barack Obama was telling those black men to vote he wasn’t scolding them. That was your father your pop pop telling you son do you see what’s in front of you?? Vote. It’s not always pretty sometimes Pop has to tell you. So that’s how I took it. Love these two and all they give to us. We will be okay. In the words of Kendrick Lamar we gon be alright. Thank you sir for this beautiful work. With artist like you we will keep prospering forward and will continue to inspire and we will stay strong and make our Country better.
Pasqual damn man reading your comment felt like reading a companion chapter. Thank you for giving this piece back to me in your own words. If enough requests for a book come through I will do it. You aren’t the first to suggest a book.
Lemme also say that you caught something I didn’t say out loud: the irony of Palin mocking “community organizer” and how that became the very reason people like us leaned in. Because Barack did the work. He sat with us, listened, gave back before the cameras ever showed up. That’s why the love was real….it was rooted.
I felt u naming his calm during Sandy Hook, or when he said Trayvon could have been his son. And also like you said, even now, Michelle’s openness keeps modeling that kind of honesty. They never stopped showing us what it looks like to hold steady when the ground shakes.
Now Pasqual that Kendrick line “we gon’ be alright” yes. That’s the ritual. That’s the survival code we’ve been carrying through song, through touch, through testimony.
Your words reminded me this isn’t just my story, or Barack and Michelle’s story no it’s all of ours. Thank you for adding your voice to it.
Thanks Brotha appreciate the shoutout. Man that’s means alot. You are a true OG thank you for your service in Law Enforcement. There’s always a character like you in all of the black movies I grew up watching. I would say you’re a little bit Lawrence Fishburne in Boyz in Tha Hood!!! And the old man from that movie and Charles Duttons character from Menace II Society. Giving us that knowledge that is needed. Please keep up the writing. This is your calling. It is needed. I think Lawrence’s name in Boyz in the hood Furious I can’t recall. But definitely you give that insight.
Trying to respond to such powerful words makes me realize how mediocre my command of the English language really is. So many others display the eloquence I am lacking. There are so many sentences that jumped out at me and each one speaking its own truth. Is this long? Yes, but I read every word, choked back tears and feel you have educated me. For all of that, I am grateful. The words "learning how to make each other shelter" really resonated with me. In a way, that's always been part of how I've looked at the people I meet, not just family. I believe we are meant to walk this path together and to ease the journey of others as much as possible. We are all one people traveling in the same direction.
Thank you for this thoughtful writing, it does give an avenue of hope. And thank you for turning me on to the Native Land Pod. I felt bad for Tiffany. The fear is real! I'm so fortunate to live in a safe place (relatively speaking). At least I've witnessed no tanks (so far), but maybe it's because I don't get out much. I have seen MAGA trucks full of flags (that they don't want you to burn, even though their leader spits on them as he does the Constitution). Still I know that the tanks and masked thugs are real and that they will eventually come for us all if we don't stand as strong as we can in the moment. You're right though, while we're standing we need to be singing.
Lynda, I hear ya loud and with clarity. That fear Tiffany spoke with is heavy because it’s real, and it’s already showing up in sooooo many spaces. I’m glad the Native Land Pod found its way to you.
You’re right: maybe some of us haven’t seen tanks yet, but the trucks and the flags are loud enough reminders of what’s underneath. That’s why standing strong matters, and why singing matters even more. Fear isolates, but a song pulls us back together. Remember “we shall over come” we could use more of that these days.
Thank you for letting me know this gave you even a small avenue of hope. That’s what I was hoping to pass forward.
Wow, this is a great article. It brought sadness but also hope. It brought a way forward in this mess we are in. I am forever grateful to you, Xplisset. I look forward to your book.
Beautiful, densely felt, and densely thoughtful braided essay. I appreciate the hard work that goes into this writing. I hear you when you say maybe the rigorous schedule you set out with is going to be too much to sustain, but know that we appreciate what you write. I found your work through the comments section of HCR's Substack.
Karen, thank you for this. You read me exactly as I hoped to be read which is braided, dense, felt. These pieces take more out of me than I like to admit, so hearing that the labor shows up on the page means a whole lot.
I’m glad you found me through Heather’s community. As I’m sure you already know she sets the bar for rigor, and I’ve tried to carry a piece of that into my own lane. Even if I can’t keep the same relentless pace, I promise the work will keep coming as honest and full as I can make it.
Grateful you’re here walking with me.
So glad to be here.
Karen, thank you for this. To have you call the essay “braided” and “densely felt” really meant something, because that’s what I was reaching for.
And I’ll be honest, I’m a little worn down right now, so if this reply comes off rough around the edges, forgive me. Knowing you teach creative writing at Penn and founded Cleaver makes your words hit. I mean really really hit. I see you live in this craft, so for you to see and name the labor means a lot.
When I saw your comments on HCR’s Substack, I thought, this man can write! I am glad to have found you there, and for the opportunity to read your words here. I also know how much effort it takes to show up as writer and thinker, crafting essays with solid arguements that keep the reader challenged and engaged. Writing is sweat labor—thank you for this!
Same here. HCR is always one of the first emails I read each morning and this one was MORE than meaningful! What a beautifully written essay. I felt like I took a journey back in time. And most importantly, it gave me the strength to keep fighting this awful situation we have in America right now. I'm 73 and I would never have believed that our country could be where we are now. We have to rise up and fight against these forces. The most disappointing force of all is the supreme court. To watch them take away rights that we fought for decades ago is truly a sin and unforgivable.
Thank you for the essay and Karen's reply.
I also found you through HCR’s substack. You write so beautifully, thank you so much. What a wonderful essay this was today.
Love, love, love, the antidote for what ails America today. Thanks for this labor of love, good brother.
Harold, you named it plain man….love as the antidote. That’s the through-line I keep trying to write toward, even when it costs something to get it on the page. Glad you caught that and called it what it is. Appreciate you, good brother.
I’ve been humming this love tune too, for eight decades. Maybe some time between now and eternity, the world will sing along.
I love what you’ve written here. I have lived in a state whose Black population is small, and predominantly in its one large city; the music you tell about is not part of my life’s soundtrack.
As one whose love “dare not speak its name”, your descriptions really strike a chord with me. Thank you.
Ally, your words mean a lot to me especially knowing you walk this law enforcement path too. We both know how heavy this work can get, so when you tell me the writing struck a chord, I gotta take that to heart.
I hear what you’re saying about living in a place where Black music wasn’t part of the daily soundtrack. But the fact that you let these stories and sounds reach you anyway lemme say that says something about the kind of heart you carry.
And when you mention a love that “dare not speak its name,” I feel the courage in that. Thank you for trusting me with it, and for always showing up here with encouragement. It keeps me going. Really it does.
I am a white woman who grew up on Motown and rock music of the late 60s! Little Stevie, the Supremes, Temps 4 Tops, the Stones, Beatles, LZ, and many more. What a time to be alive! Most rock music is rooted in the blues. In fact a lot of American culture is influenced by black traditions. You mentioned All you need is love, I’ll add John Lennon’s Imagine. It’s something I think about often. Your writing is thoughtful and from the heart. Thank you 🙏
In black community, church and homes the rules played by others and that govern the rest weren't designed to account for, accommodate, or include us. (That's where and how constitutional ammendment comes to matter) So from time in memoriam we've always had a struggle or a hardship from somewhere and somehow that we've had to find a way, make a way and figure a way out of to keep afloat because there are two realities in America. There's been justice and just us.
Those that have not had to share others footsteps say its not true precisely due to not knowing, not really seeing, not being truthful, not wanting to hear, not caring as long as the same is not their plight.
The American government experiment was created to be expansive, to change, to grow, to flourish but the garden of statehoods that it is in a united bouquet 💐 has deliberately been taken out of water to wither away.
With great photos, lovely writing, relevant song references, and tangential ties to history this essay is a wonderful example of show, don't tell. There's no lecturing just observations. Thank you.
I can't surpass or even equal the eloquence on display in this forum so I'll just say, nicely done. Bravo!
I'm 81, white, English. I Grew up with the Beatles, Dylan, Baez, Michell - their music and, yes, often their leadership. They were the gods of liberalism and socialism. Dylan spoke out last week against Musk's grotesque capitalism, Baez was on a march a few months back. They still care but I think we desperately need a modern day voice to unite people against the current horrors. That someone would have to be talented, charismatic, brave, totally dedicated and committed. Where are you?
Wow! Beautifully written❤️ Gives me hope in this dark time! Thank you🙏❤️
This should be a book. This article read like a book. Beautiful poetic and just inspiring. For every tragedy we’ve had in Black America PAC Malcolm X Dr. King this is something we as Americans Black Americans can stand and be proud of. Michelle And Barack Obama are each and every one of us. A representation of what we can be in this country. What was so ironic when Sarah Palin joked he’s a community organizer at the RNC actually drew me to Barack more. Because he did the work. He sat next to me you every American and understood what struggle was and giving back. So I resonated with that. And he undoubtedly had my support. He was our hero before even stepping into the White House. So President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle represented love. They represented black love and it was beautiful. People immediately jump to the race. But seeing President Barack Obama someone who was so candid with us was amazing to see. His calm when dealing with Sandy Hook or Traveon when saying he could have a kid that looked like him. Resonated with Artists who were singing writing rapping about his pain that pained so many black Americans and Americans in general with Travon from Kendrick Lamar to Frank Ocean. President Barack felt and understood the pain. Even now to the podcast how open our First Lady Michelle Obama is with us. It’s beautiful. They still are our voice. When President Barack Obama was telling those black men to vote he wasn’t scolding them. That was your father your pop pop telling you son do you see what’s in front of you?? Vote. It’s not always pretty sometimes Pop has to tell you. So that’s how I took it. Love these two and all they give to us. We will be okay. In the words of Kendrick Lamar we gon be alright. Thank you sir for this beautiful work. With artist like you we will keep prospering forward and will continue to inspire and we will stay strong and make our Country better.
Pasqual damn man reading your comment felt like reading a companion chapter. Thank you for giving this piece back to me in your own words. If enough requests for a book come through I will do it. You aren’t the first to suggest a book.
Lemme also say that you caught something I didn’t say out loud: the irony of Palin mocking “community organizer” and how that became the very reason people like us leaned in. Because Barack did the work. He sat with us, listened, gave back before the cameras ever showed up. That’s why the love was real….it was rooted.
I felt u naming his calm during Sandy Hook, or when he said Trayvon could have been his son. And also like you said, even now, Michelle’s openness keeps modeling that kind of honesty. They never stopped showing us what it looks like to hold steady when the ground shakes.
Now Pasqual that Kendrick line “we gon’ be alright” yes. That’s the ritual. That’s the survival code we’ve been carrying through song, through touch, through testimony.
Your words reminded me this isn’t just my story, or Barack and Michelle’s story no it’s all of ours. Thank you for adding your voice to it.
Thanks Brotha appreciate the shoutout. Man that’s means alot. You are a true OG thank you for your service in Law Enforcement. There’s always a character like you in all of the black movies I grew up watching. I would say you’re a little bit Lawrence Fishburne in Boyz in Tha Hood!!! And the old man from that movie and Charles Duttons character from Menace II Society. Giving us that knowledge that is needed. Please keep up the writing. This is your calling. It is needed. I think Lawrence’s name in Boyz in the hood Furious I can’t recall. But definitely you give that insight.
Trying to respond to such powerful words makes me realize how mediocre my command of the English language really is. So many others display the eloquence I am lacking. There are so many sentences that jumped out at me and each one speaking its own truth. Is this long? Yes, but I read every word, choked back tears and feel you have educated me. For all of that, I am grateful. The words "learning how to make each other shelter" really resonated with me. In a way, that's always been part of how I've looked at the people I meet, not just family. I believe we are meant to walk this path together and to ease the journey of others as much as possible. We are all one people traveling in the same direction.
Watch "Muscle Shoals Documentary" on YouTube. Its like coming up out of the mud on the bank of a slow moving river.
Thank you for this thoughtful writing, it does give an avenue of hope. And thank you for turning me on to the Native Land Pod. I felt bad for Tiffany. The fear is real! I'm so fortunate to live in a safe place (relatively speaking). At least I've witnessed no tanks (so far), but maybe it's because I don't get out much. I have seen MAGA trucks full of flags (that they don't want you to burn, even though their leader spits on them as he does the Constitution). Still I know that the tanks and masked thugs are real and that they will eventually come for us all if we don't stand as strong as we can in the moment. You're right though, while we're standing we need to be singing.
Lynda, I hear ya loud and with clarity. That fear Tiffany spoke with is heavy because it’s real, and it’s already showing up in sooooo many spaces. I’m glad the Native Land Pod found its way to you.
You’re right: maybe some of us haven’t seen tanks yet, but the trucks and the flags are loud enough reminders of what’s underneath. That’s why standing strong matters, and why singing matters even more. Fear isolates, but a song pulls us back together. Remember “we shall over come” we could use more of that these days.
Thank you for letting me know this gave you even a small avenue of hope. That’s what I was hoping to pass forward.
We shall overcome should be our anthem, no matter who we are or who we love.
There is deep wisdom here.
Wow, this is a great article. It brought sadness but also hope. It brought a way forward in this mess we are in. I am forever grateful to you, Xplisset. I look forward to your book.