Name: Black life at the intersection of birth and death
Uploaded: 2018-02-01T15:53:16Z
Duration: 7 min 39 s
Description: "It is the artist's job to unearth stories that people try to bury with shovels of complacency and time," says poet and freedom fighter Mwende "FreeQuency" Katwiwa. Performing her poem "The Joys of Motherhood," Katwiwa explores the experience of Black mothers in America and discusses the impact of the Movement for Black Lives -- because, she says, it's impossible to separate the two.

Mwende "FreeQuency" Katwiwa: Black life at the intersection of birth and death

Black life at the intersection of birth and death

"It is the artist's job to unearth stories that people try to bury with shovels of complacency and time," says poet and freedom fighter Mwende "FreeQuency" Katwiwa. Performing her poem "The Joys of Motherhood," Katwiwa explores the experience of Black mothers in America and discusses the impact of the Movement for Black Lives -- because, she says, it's impossible to separate the two.

The experience of Black motherhood in America is deeply shaped by the fear that children may become victims of violence or injustice. Black parents navigate a world where their children are often seen as threats rather than kids, leading to a constant fear for their safety. The struggle for reproductive justice cannot be separated from the movement for Black lives, as both fight for the right to raise children in safety and dignity. Stories of loss, like Trayvon Martin’s, highlight how Black life is too often undervalued, turning the joy of parenthood into ongoing vigilance and grief.