This resonated deeply, especially your distinction between institutional recognition and the legitimacy of the work itself. I’ve had to create parts of my own path outside the routes I once assumed would confer authority, and I’m learning to trust that the work can be rigorous, meaningful, and worth doing before any institution certifies it. Your question—what if the work does not need that permission?—is one I’ll carry with me.
The brutal honesty of your comparison of your struggle to send an email with Wells’ plight has hit me hard. However, the defiant hope with which you rap this piece is encouraging.
We, each one of us, is called to be a source of truth and dignity. Thank you for your small yet humble risk of exposed vulnerability with determined grace.
I appreciate your engagement. I wanted to honor the seemingly mundane challenges we face, yet also call us to witness our lives within the broader arc of a story about justice. And then, ultimately, what does freedom—one that our ancestors died for—require of us today? How can we use our voice, our art, or imagination to honor the freedom we enjoy today?
This resonated deeply, especially your distinction between institutional recognition and the legitimacy of the work itself. I’ve had to create parts of my own path outside the routes I once assumed would confer authority, and I’m learning to trust that the work can be rigorous, meaningful, and worth doing before any institution certifies it. Your question—what if the work does not need that permission?—is one I’ll carry with me.
The brutal honesty of your comparison of your struggle to send an email with Wells’ plight has hit me hard. However, the defiant hope with which you rap this piece is encouraging.
We, each one of us, is called to be a source of truth and dignity. Thank you for your small yet humble risk of exposed vulnerability with determined grace.
I appreciate your engagement. I wanted to honor the seemingly mundane challenges we face, yet also call us to witness our lives within the broader arc of a story about justice. And then, ultimately, what does freedom—one that our ancestors died for—require of us today? How can we use our voice, our art, or imagination to honor the freedom we enjoy today?