Elizabeth Acevedo unrelenting and defiantly states what she knows to be true post election in no better place than in our state capitol, Washington,DC. Soon to be the home of not a man, but a symbol, as she puts it. A symbol of victory for the the other side. The other side that allowed for their morals to be devoured by weak and insipid rhetoric. Or perhaps, those morals were never present in the first place. The latter seems like an easier pill to swallow for Ms. Acevedo and like minded individuals, such as myself.
It is easier to accept that humanity was never there all along, than to come to terms with the fact, that one single man had enough power to disfigure, and reconstruct humanity and what it stands for, with his very hands. Ms. Acevedo ingeniously parallels the election results to biblical scripture - Noah’s Ark. Man hears of an impending flood, and must prepare. Building a tall ark impenetrable by the outside forces. The flood is "black, brown, undocumented,muslim, queer, and female". The animals that are scurried onto the ark two by two, are not of every kind in Ms.Acevedo’s rendition. Rather, they are all sheep.
The rage in Ms. Acevedo’s voice crept up strategically and with purpose. Vocally displaying the layer of callus skin necessary to be an “other” in today’s society. She speaks of the day following the election results. She was on a flight to Texas, and caught herself in her stream of tears, not wanting them to see her cry. They had already won, but she would be damned if she let them know it.
We have been put down, we have been burned, we have been ridiculed, we have been treated as less than; but all of these facts, are attestments of them, not us. We’ve simply been black, brown, and others. We’ve simply lived, and the very air we breath, instills hatred in others. How could the air I breath, bother you, in some locate place? How does my life, subtract from yours ? Some may rejoice to see the “others” burned at the stake. That is fine, nearly expected; but us ? We have to rise above. We have been given a great weight to carry. The weight of resilience, inherited through our very blood. We all bleed red, and apparently so does our map. The last thing we can do is disassociate. Now, more than ever, is when we have to unapologetically be the “others”. Let's be the flood so vast, that no man made structure can weather our storm.
Afterall, “An ark is not a country”.
Please click the following link to hear Elizabeth's Acevedo's poem https://www.facebook.com/wearemitu/videos/1693272480973187/
