We've always been told to “stand for what you believe in”. For most, this is just a matter of pushing aside general vulnerability and speaking from the heart. But have you ever attempted to stand up with the weight on the world bearing down on your shoulders? Millions of hostile and judgmental eyes, ears and mouths waiting their turn to delegitimize your differences. How will you decide to face a world, keen to marginalize and segregate at the very first sense of deviation from "normal”? It is in this pivotal and challenging moment where Pride itself is conceived.
Pride isn’t merely being proud of yourself and your beliefs internally. It is the celebration of the courage and confidence you have to share "you" with the rest of the world, fully aware of the rejection you may receive from the close-minded. It is the selflessness you have to show others, who may share similar experiences, the beauty that can come from showing the world what you are really made of. Pride comes in many shapes, sizes and colors, as it is the fuel of our individuality. It cannot go unnoticed as, most importantly, it is the key to our liberation as true individuals in a world far too often run by systems of the unsupportive majority.
SCOJO is inspired by those who have taken this stand in the face of prejudice, not just for themselves, but for those fighting the same lopsided battle. Against the odds and the darkness of hate, these individuals rose their flags and paved the roads for those like them to follow. The resulting communities of strong willed individuals and the bridges they've built to connect other marginalized groups stand today as the fruits of their enduring labor.
Faces of Pride
Pt 1: Audre Lorde
Writer, feminist, civil rights activist and self-proclaimed 'black lesbian mother warrior poet', Audre Lorde was a primary figure in the Black LGBT+ community throughout the mid-1900s. After her first published collection of poetry, First Cities 1968, Lorde continued to write powerful works throughout her life depicting the unique identities, transience of human relationships, and the battles of living as a person of color, specifically within the LGBT+ community. Her work and initiatives lifted up peers of her community as she inspired Barabara Smith to establish Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press. This publishing agency was the first U.S. institution established, focused and run by women of color. Her dedication and efforts also made waves internationally as she made significant contributions to the feminist movements of developing countries, sparking conversation and action through powerful prose keynotes at the National Third-World Gay and Lesbian Conference in 1979. Audre Lorde will be remembered for her relentless commitment to further defining the uniqueness of black feminism, and has changed the lives of millions around the globe with her initiatives and powerful words.
THE BLACK UNICORN by Audre Lorde
The black unicorn is greedy.
The black unicorn is impatient.
'The black unicorn was mistaken
for a shadow or symbol
and taken
through a cold country
where mist painted mockeries
of my fury.
It is not on her lap where the horn rests
but deep in her moonpit
growing.
The black unicorn is restless
the black unicorn is unrelenting
the black unicorn is not
Free.
“Black Unicron.” Audre Lorde, www.albany.edu/writers-inst/webpages4/archives/lorde.html.