#Know Yours

[alivesoul]

Poet, playwright, activist, educator, and essayist June Jordan was born in Harlem, New York City, in 1936. An only child, she was raised by her Jamaican immigrant parents in Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood. She began writing poetry at only seven years old. Jordan attended high school at the Northfield School for Girls in Massachusetts and university at Barnard College, which she left without a final degree due to her alienation from the strictly white and male literary curriculum there. She married and later divorced Columbia student Michael Meyer, with whom she had one child. Despite anti-LGTBQ+ stigma at the time, Jordan’s writing openly acknowledged her bisexuality.

The author of 27 books—including essay collections, libretti, and children’s books as well as volumes of poetry—Jordan was also a lifelong activist who fought fiercely for civil rights, women’s rights, LGBTQ+ rights, and anti-war causes. She taught at CUNY’s City College, Yale University, Sarah Lawrence College, and SUNY Stony Brook before being appointed professor of African-American Studies at the University of California, Berkeley, where she founded Poetry for the People. Jordan’s many accolades include grants and awards from the Rockefeller Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, PEN America, the National Association of Black Journalists, and numerous other institutions. She died of breast cancer in 2002. A widely influential poet who worked in accessible language to convey deep truths around identity, Jordan is celebrated today for both her literary writing and her dedicated advocacy for social justice and historically excluded groups.

Why are you posting this @alivesoul?

Because June Jordan taught a class at the University of California Berkeley called Poetry for the People and that class has been permanently cancelled. A shame. Teacher/Poets are essential to any higher learning experience as poetry informs us in every way of the world around us. I can't imagine my college experience without the poetry of Nikki Giovanni, Quincy Troupe and so many others. Beyond that, June is a truth hunter, a truth gatherer, and a truth provider---a modern day griot. I truly hope she finds a safe space within the diaspora to continue her work as she represents the very best of what it means to be Black in this country. The attack on Black intellectuals from Ta-Nehisi Coates to Claudine Gay is truly one of the great academic and cultural crimes of my lifetime and cannot continue to go ignored. Never have I seen so many highly educated and accomplished black men and women so unfairly attacked and discredited. These men and women are literally trying to save the soul of country by shining a light on the FACTS of our history, present AND on those who would profit from lies, greed and violence. If there is one thing I would implore those who read this blog to do, it is to read, study and protect not only our history but those who make it their business to make sure it is never forgotten.

We are excellence.

Peace.

#Alive Soul #History #Know Yours #Teach Black History

[whydidisavethistomyphone]

5 year anniversary of the miette post \o/

#miette #know your meme #anniversary

[just-spacetrash]

the 'what if you played it a little risky' post literally Changed my life but i cant fujkign find it in my blog because its. a tiktok screenshot

#like literally every time ive hesitated sending a text or complimenting someone or stuff ive thought of it #like youre right. what if i played it a little risky what do i have to lose in doing a nice thing!!!!!! ur so right!!!!!!!! #but its forever lost cos i cant search it with any words cause its an image #misery and pain. you know how it is #my post

[justalittlebluetiefling]

#i don't believe that people for serious reasons sort their books any way but by author #and then obviously by release date/series within that #i am being told that i am being JUDGY #also if you sort your books any other way HOW DO YOU FIND THEM #i really need to know #polls #can't believe i forgot to include genre in here

[ikarakie]

if a character means enough to me i will truly never stop thinking about them. i just retire them into a little back room in my brain and periodically bring them out to stare at them under a little light

#tag your faves #matthew holt #not me black #black not me #levi ackerman #new addition to the list tbh but i know his ass is here to stay #hange zoe #erwin smith #their asses too #keith kogane #lance mcclain #ashamed so many voltron characters are on this list #takashi shirogane #peter parker #tony stark #harley keener #aziraphale #crowley #anthony j crowley #surprisingly? #bakugou katsuki #shouto todoroki #steve harrington #will byers #wallace wells #scott pilgrim #OMG #killua zoldyck #gon freecss #kurapika

[atissi]

i don't really like when people say dungeon meshi is accidentally good autistic representation, because while i understand not wanting to make conclusions without explicit confirmation from the author, there's always the weird assumption that non-western authors somehow don't know about things like neurodivergency/queerness/etc. (on top of the assumptions that east asian authors are somehow more naive or oblivious to "western" social issues).

given that dungeon meshi started being published in 2014, it's not really a "work belonging to its times"—it's as contemporary as any other media we discuss on this site, which means it should be fair to assume it engages with contemporary topics (and at the very least, you shouldn't say that the representation is accidental with so much confidence)

but anyways, the chapter "perfect communication" in ryoko kui's "terrarium in a drawer" is some of the most straightforward autistic representation I've seen, and from now on I'm going to assume that laios's character writing is absolutely intentional in that regard:

#beepbeep.txt #dungeon meshi #ryoko kui #this is me trying to explain h/ollow knight lore #also yayyyy reading new things. chapter 18 'spring' is basically UFUT if you squint (sorry for the jumpscare if you know UFUT) #but the last two pages were such a surprising gut punch....it's hard not to see it as a metaphor for both the experience of raising childre #and of taking care of your parents in old age....aughh....

[evidently-endless]

i think we should remind musicians they can absolutely make up little stories for their songs btw. it doesn’t have to be about them at all. you can invent a guy and put him in situations to music. time honoured tradition in fact.

#i love reading your examples! however next person to be like um actually this exists?? it’s on sight #i know it exists. i think it’s fun. that’s why i think more people should do it. #sometimes i think the confessional style loses impact because everything has to be excavated from the depths of the soul #and somehow. confessional writing seems to be going with the most disaffected bland sound possible. odd. #i love deeply personal songs! i love when songs sound like they mean something to the artist! #something something wider issue of mining trauma and being performatively vulnerable for quote unquote content #idk i don’t have the actual knowledge to write about this well there’s just something not landing for me recently #mine

[stitchthesewords]

its rude to reblog things from people you arent mutuals with fyi. :/

💀 my brother in christopher

#we're trying to decide if #youre from twitter #or forgot the word spam #and i think the general public needs to know we made a poll

[theartofmadeline]

i promise i wouldn't blame you

#illustration #artists on tumblr #digital art #comic #dinosaur #chicken #art #artwork #drawing #webcomic #theartofmadeline #something i sketched ageeeeessss ago and never made hehe #no i dont know how to draw chickens or dinos. mind your business !! #bird #paleo art #evolution

[podcastwizard]

because here's the thing here's the thing the question was not "would you be more surprised to run into a fairy or a walrus" the question was "would you be more surprised to find a fairy or a walrus AT YOUR DOOR" and while no, i do not believe in fairies and would be surprised to know they EXIST i would NOT be surprised to find one at my door. HOWEVER, if a WALRUS shows up at my door i have to contend with the fact that a walrus somehow made it to my apartment specifically and knocked on my door for god knows what reason. i would be more surprised to know that a fairy EXISTS, of course, but NOT that they're at my door, do you get me?

#am i reading too much into the question YES #but like someone else said there is narrative precedence for a fairy at your door #SHOULD a fairy exist #like if a fairy shows up at my door i've got bigger problems you know

[alivesoul]

Carl Weathers (1948-2024)

Thank you. Rest In Power.

#RIP #Carl Weathers #History #Know Yours #Black Men #Excellence

[toss-a-coin-to-your-stan-account]

being a student during peak pandemic was so fucking surreal like. "it's not an excuse to fall behind" I cannot stress enough to you how much A Worldwide Plague Upending Life As We Know It is literally one of The Top Three Reasons to fall behind

#you go upstairs to hear the news talk about the death toll hitting 100k. you get some frozen waffles bc its all you've got stocked up #and you wont risk going to get groceries or takeout. you go back downstairs because you have a 3 page essay due. #you stare at your word doc with lofi playing and wonder why you can't just buckle down and work like normal. #or really. you pretend to wonder #because you know the reason you cant work like normal #you just refuse to allow yourself to believe its reason enough #mine #academia #covid mention

[feluka]

oh god shut up. you didn't even know the damn kid.

"The children are always ours, every single one of them, all over the globe, and I am beginning to suspect that whoever is incapable of recognizing this may be incapable of morality." — James Baldwin

#i am honestly not even sure who you're referring to #the most recent child deaths i've reblogged are #nex benedict (the nonbinary kid murdered at school) and hind rajab #if you can't see why either of these should shatter your heart without personally knowing them #then you're entirely beyond any hope #asks #edit: this was about hind.

[greykolla-art]

My blog has become infested with angst goblins, and they must be fed with some hypothetical scenarios!🙏💚

#grey art #fan art #hazbin hotel fanart #hazbin hotel #Hazbin hotel comic #JESUS WEPT THIS FUCKING THING WAS A BEAST #BUT I LOVE IT! #hazbin charlie #hazbin alastor #Alastor #charlie morningstar #angst #hurt/comfort #whump art #I know what you people are I’m one of you! #I heard your cries for more angst and I aim to please! #also good excuse to use clip studio more #I only bust that out for something special #now let’s do something else! like eat!

[thatrandomblogsays]

Annabeth: I, a child, had to earn Thalia’s love, that’s how the world works! I have to earn my moms love. Love is transactional, you gotta be worthy of it first silly :)

Percy, listening to this on the train

#STOP TRAUMATIZING THIS CHILD PLEASE #this is what it’s like when you were raised in a loving home and you find out your friend wasn’t #but they don’t know they weren’t #so you’re like um hey that’s fucked up and sometimes a crime? #you tell them parents are supposed to love you as is without earning it and they don’t believe you #you can hear the therapy bill racking up #annabeth chase #Percy jackson #percy jackson and the olympians #percy jackon and the olympians #pjo #pjo series #pjo tv show #mine #adding on to my tags because some people are debating if that’s how love works #love is meant to be a mutual exchange and something that grows over time between two people as their bond grows #whereas how Annabeth says it #in my opinion at least #she had to do XY and Z to be worthy of thalias love before receiving it #like with her mother #she has to be amazing before Athena is proud of her #vs Athena being proud of her just for being her daughter #that being said I’m not hating on a traumatized child having potentially negative and toxic patterns #more pointing out the comedy of the scene from Percy’s perspective who has a good grasp on healthy vs unhealthy relationships

[arimiadev]

oh shit rpg maker xp is completely free to own this week on steam??

#I dont use rpgm anymore but this is still wonderful to know about #if you add it to your account then it shouldn't be removed once the week is over #you should have it forever for free #just know that this license might only be for free games and you might have to actually purchase the software before you can make commercia #indie game dev #game dev #rpg maker