The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America October-December 2017 - 24
sTorIes oF PeaCemakers
Letter to My Unborn Child
by Ree Belle
I apologize-apologize for bringing you into a world full of hate and pain
A world that has nothing waiting for you but disdain
you'll quickly learn it's all a game that never intended to have your name
Running across the screen in big bright green letters-
letter to my unborn child
don't worry that they won't like your hair naturally
They'll criticize your hips that naturally
Sway in the wind like a tree to a small summer breeze
they'll tell you in so many words
so many images
that your natural ain't beautiful
Don't worry that you won't see yourself in main magazines
or commercials representing you in your fullness
And don't sweat
that you will see yourself time and time again
in shackles and orange jumpsuits or dead in the streets
Shackles and jumpsuits and dead in the streets
my heart never stops moving to the beat
the beat of your heart in my young womb
Although my heart is full of gloom
And maybe doom as I read the letters of your name...
letter to my unborn child
See our people occupy the streets
drunken, drugged up, and pimped out
But Baby don't worry
cus the group I ride with are a pack of lions, yes!
I run with lionesses who don't stress on a kill-
Because we killin institutional power that keeps our people oppressed
We killin ideology that says we can't ever impress
Don't apologize for who you are, understand who you are
And whose you are
laugh my child, go ahead and laugh wild
don't fear life, love others and hate strife.
See the beauty that lies within, and the beauty that has been
A part of your rich history that at times seems a great mystery
you are more than black in America, I urge you to explore the diaspora
But more than that, know that I am your hope
And my hope for you is a future other than the one I see now.
-Brittini Gray, a recent seminary graduate and poet-organizer based in St. Louis, mO, writes, heals and performs under the name Ree Belle. This
poem was written Jan. 17, 2014. Copyright Brittini Gray, January 17, 2014. Used with permission. (To hear Ree Belle read her poetry, go to
www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4nbZI_dg4g&feature=youtu.be.)
24 Baptist Peacemaker
Oct-Dec 2017
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4nbZI_dg4g&feature=youtu.be
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America October-December 2017
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The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America October-December 2017 - No label
The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America October-December 2017 - 2
The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America October-December 2017 - 3
The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America October-December 2017 - 4
The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America October-December 2017 - 5
The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America October-December 2017 - 6
The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America October-December 2017 - 7
The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America October-December 2017 - 8
The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America October-December 2017 - 9
The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America October-December 2017 - 10
The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America October-December 2017 - 11
The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America October-December 2017 - 12
The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America October-December 2017 - 13
The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America October-December 2017 - 14
The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America October-December 2017 - 15
The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America October-December 2017 - 16
The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America October-December 2017 - 17
The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America October-December 2017 - 18
The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America October-December 2017 - 19
The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America October-December 2017 - 20
The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America October-December 2017 - 21
The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America October-December 2017 - 22
The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America October-December 2017 - 23
The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America October-December 2017 - 24
The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America October-December 2017 - 25
The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America October-December 2017 - 26
The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America October-December 2017 - 27
The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America October-December 2017 - 28
The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America October-December 2017 - 29
The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America October-December 2017 - 30
The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America October-December 2017 - 31
The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America October-December 2017 - 32
http://www.brightcopy.net/allen/peacemaker/38-1
http://www.brightcopy.net/allen/peacemaker/37-4
http://www.brightcopy.net/allen/peacemaker/37-3
http://www.brightcopy.net/allen/peacemaker/37-2
http://www.brightcopy.net/allen/peacemaker/37-1
http://www.brightcopy.net/allen/peacemaker/36-3
http://www.brightcopy.net/allen/peacemaker/36-2
http://www.brightcopy.net/allen/peacemaker/36-1
http://www.brightcopy.net/allen/peacemaker/35-4
http://www.brightcopy.net/allen/peacemaker/35-3
https://www.nxtbook.com/allen/peacemaker/35-2
https://www.nxtbook.com/allen/peacemaker/35-1
https://www.nxtbook.com/allen/peacemaker/34-4
https://www.nxtbook.com/allen/peacemaker/34-3
https://www.nxtbook.com/allen/peacemaker/34-2
https://www.nxtbook.com/allen/peacemaker/34-1
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com