You can listen to this spoken word here.
So many of us grew up on Disney.
Emulating stories of damsels and princes,
But maybe, with some slight tweaks and changes,
We can again turn to Disney for refuge and reflection
Leaving behind the fairytales of our youth and instead
Taking on the role of hero and sheros for ourselves...
Pocahontas on Standing Rock and the environment:
You think I’m an ignorant savage
And you've amassed so much power
You’ve convinced yourself its so
But still, you cannot see
The savage one, its not me
How can there be so much that you don't know?
Listen, and then you’d know...
You think you own whatever land you land on
This Earth, our earth, is just a dead thing you have claimed
But we see every rock and tree and creature
Having value, having dignity, having a right to claim it’s space.
The Hunchback of Notre Dame for the refugees in cages:
I know that you can hear me
I’m just not sure you care
I have learned that you don’t listen
To the OTHERS prayer
To you, I know, I’m are just outcast
Not worthy of speaking to you
Still I see your face and wonder...
Were you never in need of a helping hand too?
Please help the oppressed
Incarcerated and chained from birth
Show them the mercy
They deserve as a being on this earth
Please help us, we are people…
We look to you still
If you ignore the outcasts
Then everyone will….
Ariel for women and little girls everywhere and Nyeisha Nelson:
What would I give if I could live out of your violence and misogyny?
What would I pay to spend a day at the same table with you?
Imagine a land, where they understand
Where they don't reprimand their smart and equal daughters…
Bright young women, sick of being extinguished,
Afraid of night walks but ready to stand…
I dont when.
I dont know how.
But there has to be more than being wiped out
Someday we'll see + acknowledge the need
For an untoxic and not deadly masculinity...
Tarzan for our Muslim and AAIP brothers and sisters:
Don’t blame you for cryin'
None of this is all right
But, take my hand, I’ll line up by your side…
I’ll do my best to call out the hate around you,
I promise to be there, I won’t be shy.
They want you small, but you must stay strong
This is not normal, this is an unimaginable wrong
The human spirit, can’t be broken,
We will be here, still, it is ok to cry.
We will fight this fight
No matter what they say,
‘Cause wrong is wrong, and we are right to fight for good.
Always and always.
They just can't they understand the way they’ve made you feel,
They just don't trust what they were taught to make them afraid.
We may all be different but
Deep inside us, the differences are what make us strong.
Elsa for our LGBT brothers and sisters--especially our trans children under attack today:
Don't let them in,
don't let them see
Be the family man or the femme fatal you always have to be
Conceal, don't feel,
don't let them know
Well fuck that, let them know
Let it go, let it go
Don’t hold back who you are anymore
Let it go, let it go
Sashay away and slam that toxic door
You don't have to care
What they're going to say
Let their storm rage on.
Because the rainbow will follow you anyways…
Alladin for my Black and Brown brothers and sisters, especially for Daunte Wright and Adam Toledo today:
Gotta keep!
One jump ahead of the breadline
One swing ahead of the sword
I ask for only what I can't afford
Which thanks to the system, that's everything…
One jump ahead of the lawmen
That's all, and lets stop pretending its some kind of fluke
These guys don't appreciate the men, women children and families they broke.
They yell, “Riff raff! Street rat! Scoundrel! He deserved that!
What happened to kindness?
They say, Rip him open, make him pay for existing”
I can take a hint, gotta face the facts, I don’t have a friend in blue.
Who? Oh, it's sad that Trayvon hit bottom
He's become the one-man face of crime
They say, “I'd blame parents, except his kind don’t got em'
I say, “gotta hide to live, gotta ask to breathe
Tell you about if I had the time!
One jump ahead of the fake news
One skip ahead of my doom
Next time gonna use a white non de plume
One jump ahead of the hitmen
One hit ahead of my flock
Its not safe a stroll around the block (in a hoodie, eating skittles while Black)
They say, “Stop Protestors! Vandals!
I say, “I’m tired, can't handle”
Let’s not be too hasty
I’m am choking, I can breathe guys…
I can’t breathe...
I can’t breathe...
I can’t breathe...
Reprise:
Gangster, Hood rat, I don't buy that, if only they'd look closer,
Would they only see a Black man, a Black child?
No. No they wouldn’t.
They would see..
There's so much more to me
Scar brings some shame for those who voted for White Nationalism:
He knows that your powers of retention
Are as wet as a warthog's backside
But thick as you are, pay attention
His words are a matter of white pride
It's clear from your vacant expressions
The lights are not all on upstairs
But we're talking klans and oppression
Even you, safe as you think you are, can't be caught unawares
So prepare for a change of a lifetime
Be prepared for sensational fake news
A terrifying new era is tiptoeing nearer
And where do you feature?
Well, who is your teacher?
I know it sounds sordid and you think you're gonna be rewarded
When at last the white man is given his dues! (insert eyeroll)
And injustice deliciously squared
Be prepared!
Simba closes us out on hope:
From the day we arrived on this planet
And, blinking, step into the sun
There is more to see than can ever be seen
More good to do than can ever be done
There's far too much hurt to take in here
More to fight than can ever be fought
But the sun keeps rolling high
Through the sapphire sky
It keeps on shining for those ready to fight...
We are the circle of life
And we together can move this all
Through despair and hope
Through faith and love
While we claim our place
On this path unwinding
Only together are we the circle
The circle of life….
*This spoken word piece was originally written in 2016 + was updated in 2021.