Street roots., June 29, 2018, Page 12, Image 12

Street Roots • June 29-July 5, 2018
OLUO, from page 5
constantly asking me ignorant questions about race.
Now what I do is I keep a copy of your book in my
cubicle, and I hand it to them and say, ‘Hey, read
this chapter.’ I’ve heard from multiple people who
were kind of using it that way. I took this to my
family member where we could never get peace on
this topic, I brought this to them. I asked them to
read it and we were finally able to have a productive
conversation on it.
L.E.: I think your work resonates with a lot o f
people, and I think that’s in part because o f your
accessibility. Is there one piece o f advice that yo u ’ve
given to white people that has struck a chord?
I.O.: I tweeted a couple of years ago, and I
include this in the book just because of how it
seemed to resonate with people, which was: Look
where your privilege intersects with someone’s
oppression because that’s where you have the most
power to make change. And that just really clicked
with a lot of people I think in a way that they hadn’t
considered before. People are so afraid of that word:
privilege. So afraid of looking at it and
understanding that you really can’t make any
meaningful change if you’re not willing to engage
with your privilege - not because you require that
guilt or anything like that, but simply because
where else but where you have power and privilege
would you be able to make change. And you really
do have to be able to look for that and seek it out in
order to be most effective. I would say that has
probably been one of those light bulb moments for
more people than just about anything else I’ve said.
L.E.: Do you have any advice fo r writers who want
to become published one day, since you’ve been
successful?
I.O.: First of all, just be proud of your writing. A
lot of people really hide their writing or won’t make
it public until it’s professionally published. They feel
that’s the stamp of approval they need in order to
share their work. But the way that it works now on
the internet is the opposite. You kind of build your
audience and then the work comes, especially if
you’re in a marginalized population. That’s how I
really got my start. I didn’t get my start by just
going and trying to get published. I was writing and
I had something I needed to say to the world. And
that started picking up steam. I was putting it out
Conversation
there not even with the intention of becoming a
writer, but with the intent of having my community
read what I was saying. When that started gaining
an audience, that’s when publishers started
reaching out to me. The internet is amazing and
wonderful and I would say if you’re going to write
online today, don’t necessarily look at publications
as the legitimizer of your work. You legitimize your
work by writing and writing and writing and
listening to your audience and rewriting and having
these conversations and then the publishers will
come. You really have to do that work on your own
terms first.
Page 13
Clock
by Jacob C.S.
We ignore what is right in front of us.
It is what is not seen that is what drives a religion.
To describe what is not seen by our eyes cannot be described.
With that being said, time has a nasty habit
of reminding us humans of what reality is.
L.E.: In addition to your work, you also go live on
Facebook for makeup tutorials. Why do you do those?
I.O.: That’s just pure fun. I absolutely love
makeup. It is really kind of a nice stress relief for
me. I’ve always loved art, and I don’t have the time
for a lot of large scale art projects. So sitting down
to paint your face is kind of a loving thing to do, and
it’s fun and it’s creative. I started doing (them)
primarily because when I would post selfies of
something fun I had made, I would hear these
comments that worried me. People would say “I
wish I could do that but I don’t have the skin for it.
I wish I could do that but I can’t carry off those
colors.” Things like that all the time, and that
bothered me because as a feminist it bothered me,
as a black woman it bothered me, but also as a
someone who loves color and art and believes it
should be accessible it bothered me. So I just
started making these videos while I was getting
ready.
L.E.: Can we expect more books from you?
I.O.: Yes, definitely. I’m hoping to in the next
couple of months get some time to work out a
proposal for my next book. It’s really about just
getting that time where I can sit for a good period
of time and get the work out. I already have ideas
that I’ve been discussing with my agent as to what
I’m going to do next. It’s definitely not the last book
that you’ll hear from me no matter what I promised
as I was finishing this book that I would never ever
ever do it again. There will definitely be more.
Untitled
by Tina Drake
We fall within a darkness
that one may never know each moment
thought to be the last.
Eager to find the end.
Till the light shines through,
The light, be it a word or touch.
Be that kindness shown with a simple gesture.
The light shines through.
Breaking through the deep darkness.
Courtesy o f Street Roots’ sister paper Real Change /
INSP.ngo
Oregon’s wildlife, like this Juvenile
saw-whet o w l found in the Badlands
Wilderness in central Oregon, rely on
our public lands to thrive.
Unfortunately, Secretary of the
Interior Ryan Zinke is working to
remove protections on our public
lands that safeguard w ildlife and
water. To learn more about how you
can help protect our public lands and
wildlife, visit www.oregonwild.org