Black Supremacy—Performance Poetry by Jordan Bailey & Breeze [Video]

By Button Poetry

Transcript provided by YouTube. Please excuse any discrepancies from the original performance. 

To the white lady on Twitter who said,

“This is just another example of black supremacy.”

(audience reacts)

As I write this poem, I notice that this black pen I’m writing with doesn’t seem to trust this paper anymore. It wonders if the whiteness of the canvas we use is a form of privilege, to reword this pen’s spilled blood, I mean, ink, as white things tend to do these days.

We are all just really wanting to know what exactly in the fresh lily-white foolish fuck did you mean by black supremacy? Unless you meant my grandmama’s sweet potato pie. C’mon, y’all! Unless you meant my Auntie’s fried chicken. – That part! – Unless you meant the love and genius created in a Black momma’s kitchen – That part! – must be somewhere in a prayer closet. How anywhere their knees touch seems to ascend, black supremacy.

You must mean ascension, how we still rise even under the weight of so much hate, how we seem to climb ourselves out of a 400 plus year grave and still be so alive, so lit. Black supremacy– oh, you mean how we joy differently, how certain songs break up fights, how the stereo lets you know, you ain’t gonna hurt nobody. Did create a [inaudible] 2-step. Black supremacy.

Well, they gotta be an NWA pulpit preaching in sermons and expressing yourself for, in service of Black businesses still in business. Black supremacy means we mean business. Black supremacy– you must mean how we perform magic with that Black Boy Joy, Black Girl Magic, conjuring up some way out of no way.

Y’all know how Baby Dee sells weed, does hair, and babysits out of the same house. They still don’t know where to kick the door in at. How pig feet and chitlins can sound so much like two fish and five loaves or how Harlem constructed an entire renaissance out of being unheard.

Black supremacy– you must mean how we stay winning. Like a Viola Davis [inaudible] group piece. Or how Jordan Peele exposes your lust for this body that made you pay $12 for the blueprint you created. Like fuck y’all, these butterflies can’t be pimped. These tokens ain’t free no more. Don’t we move like a K.Dot praise dance over top of a police car, screaming “We gonna be alright,” knowing y’all will do anything in your power to make us not alright.

But hold on, wait, wait, ’cause black supremacy is not white supremacy, ’cause it ain’t church shooting – Right. – or church bombing – Right. – or Trump votes – Right. – or trying to snatch God from us after we found a reflection of Her in ourselves when your asses tried to shackle us to the weapon that is religion in the first place.

Black supremacy is not loving my culture means yours is inferior. It’s stealing everything from my so-called inferior culture. Black supremacy is not a hate group, it’s not KKK hoods covering up cops, politicians, lawyers, judges. Black supremacy is a love group. It’s the strength and patience of Diamond Reynolds watching Philando die in front of her eyes. It’s the intuition of Korryn Gaines’ son knowingly asking are those cops there to kill them. Black supremacy has to be embedded in our forgiveness ’cause you’re still here making dumb-ass Twitter comments about stupid shit like this. ‘Cause we still [inaudible] the war yet. Come banging down your door yet. We still ain’t burnt this bitch down!

So, come again, what exactly in the whole heap of white privilege hell did you mean by black supremacy?

Oh, I thought that’s what the fuck you meant! (cheers and applause) ♪ (music) ♪

♪ (music) ♪

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This post was previously published on YouTube.

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Carlynn Newhouse, performing at the 2022 Womxn of the World Poetry Slam in Baltimore, MD.

About Button:

Button Poetry is committed to developing a coherent and effective system of production, distribution, promotion and fundraising for spoken word and performance poetry.

We seek to showcase the power and diversity of voices in our community. By encouraging and broadcasting the best and brightest performance poets of today, we hope to broaden poetry’s audience, to expand its reach and develop a greater level of cultural appreciation for the art form.

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