Watch Us Rise: Chapters 8–15

After Jasmine quit the August Wilson Acting Ensemble, we devised a new plan to start our own women’s rights club, figuring that even if it was just the two of us, they’d have to agree based on the rules of three’s a club.

“Well, those are excellent reasons to start a club. I commend you for thinking of this and pushing through with it, but you two are already in clubs that you love, right? I’ve seen you both on stage for talent night reading poetry and performing. Why would you want to leave your clubs?”

I acknowledge that breaking any of these guidelines could lead to any of the following consequences:
a warning from my club advisor
deletion of a portion or all of the post
temporary or permanent loss of blogging privileges at the discretion of my club advisor

“And it’s not about stereotypical girl topics written in sappy, cliché ways.”

“Besides the blog,” Jasmine says, “I was thinking we can put on events and performances. I learned a little bit about guerilla art at my theater camp, and I think we could do some of the actions like street performances and placing art and quotes in unpredictable places. I mean, we wouldn’t go on the street, but we could do an impromptu performance or chant or something during lunch in the cafeteria,” Jasmine says.

I would hope that at a school like Amsterdam Heights, these roles would be studied and exposed, that we'd create scripts that dismantle these caricatures.

The Jezebel is a promiscuous female...

During times of slavery the bodies of African American women were sexualized in order to demean them.

The caricature of the Sapphire has been said to act as a warning or punishment for going against society's norm that women should be passive, nonthreatening, and unseen.

I am Puerto Rican and so tired of seeing us portrayed as maids or...vixens.

sunshineandrain commented: So tired of stereotypes in books, film, and theater about ALL people from marginalized groups!!
gweber commented: I hate the term "marginalized" but I feel you sunshineandrain!

“She also called out the August Wilson Acting Ensemble, which was named after a prominent social justice playwright, who is black, I might add.”

“Uh, I think you have Mr. Morrison to thank for that. He’s the one that lost his mind in class, which in retrospect was perfect, because now we have our own club. Ha!”

“Stereotypes are all fake. They aren’t real. They’re a way to lump people together and create bias about a whole group. That was Jasmine’s whole point. And it’s not a joke. None of it’s a joke. Her feelings, my feelings, are real. And if you think it’s no big deal, or that stereotypes can’t hurt people, then you’re part of the problem.”

She will learn when you cut your blond locks,
your powers will vanish & your tresses
will turn a drab & lifeless lackluster brown
(and short), but she will learn that princes
sometimes prefer brunettes & all will be well.

She will learn when you cut your blond locks,
your powers will vanish & your tresses
will turn a drab & lifeless lackluster brown
(and short), but she will learn that princes
sometimes prefer brunettes & all will be well.

Hair can be an animal sometimes, up and off
your precious, precocious head in a flash.

My own hair is repugnant & revolting,
it's ruthless & ravenous—relentless
slithering, sly & slick, bodacious & funky.

My own hair is repugnant & revolting,
it's ruthless & ravenous—relentless
slithering, sly & slick, bodacious & funky.

Yeah, repugnant as in take your breath,
lungs, heart.

Arithmetic paradoxes & aerial coordinates & butterflies.
You won't be able to stop mastering quadratic equations.

Coding, programming & tech tricks.
Tricks of the job trade—
Yoga Body Confidence. Smartz. Slickz. Prowess.
Prodigy & Precocity. Brainy moves. Brainy body confidence.

Brainy flair. Brainy knack. Brainy. Brainy.
Brainy. Brainy—Brainy.

Brainy flair. Brainy knack. Brainy. Brainy.
Brainy. Brainy—Brainy.

Homage the muscles in your mind.
Boost your IQ in one month.

It be like knowing you are what praying women had in mind when they travailed for tomorrow.

“First, let’s keep talking about why STEAM actually matters. I want you to continue to open your minds about this class. This is about dialogue, critical thinking, and using our information to take thoughtful and exciting risks in our work, to engage in experiential learning and begin to really collaborate and push each other to become twenty-first-century learners.”

You know, what happens is that people think that there’s equality—women can vote, feminism is a hot trend, equal rights for all—and then they gloss over it or think there’s no need for a club or for pushback.

“The status quo?”
“The existing state of affairs—the way things are run, basically. And in the tech world, things have been mostly run by men..."

“You should come then. It’s a cool scene,” he adds, and only Isaac, with his comic book T-shirt that says He Comes from the Future with the Power to Destroy the Present, could convince James to come to an open mic at an anarchist, volunteer-run used bookstore.

She has a bright purple scarf wrapped around her waist like a skirt and a neon-green bra that shows through a black sweater riddled with holes.

You
my shine
galaxy
of breath & lungs
all of me a wave
crestfallen over you
the planets shift when you’re near
I count their revolve, a tremble
to know your heart bumps up against mine
hope it will stay steady this whole long time.

When neither Chelsea or I knew who Dad was talking about, he made us look them up, and that’s when we saw the iconic photo of the both of them holding up their fists, with a confident defiance on their faces.

They watch it for nostalgia’s sake, reminiscing about their college days at Clark Atlanta. Mom is always pointing out an outfit, saying, “I used to wear that back in the day,” or “That style used to be fly.”

“He wants to talk to us about our blog. He thinks we’ve been writing things just to be instigating these kinds of situations.”
“Where is all this coming from? We haven’t instigated anything. Has anyone posted anything negative in our comments section?” Jasmine asks.