Names I wasn't given
A poem on learning who spoke before we were listening
As a white woman may I suggest before you pick up another book about freedom about healing about becoming you look for the voices that were never handed to you Audre Lorde Maya Angelou June Jordan Claudia Rankine bell hooks Names I did not know not because they were silent but because I was not taught to hear them There were women speaking truth long before empowerment became a brand long before courage was marketable White women often repackage what Black women have been saying for generations and call it discovery But this fight is not new only our awareness is What we were not taught we are still responsible to learn The gaps in our education do not close themselves Listening is a decision You don’t know what you don’t know until you decide to listen So as a white woman may I suggest read beyond what was given to you Listen to the ones who spoke without platforms the ones who spoke without safety the ones who spoke anyway the ones who have been saying this for a long damn time And when you hear them do not just admire amplify
