The Prophets(119)

I learned at the altar of your boundless wisdom. Thank you for being my teachers: Moustafa Bayoumi, Prudence Cumberbatch, Michael Cunningham, Stacy D’Erasmo, Wendy Fairey, Howard Firestone, Pamela Grace, Irene Horowitz, Rosamond King, Jerome Krase, Laura Mattiga, Jenny Offil, Laurie Pea, Alexis Emilia Pierre-Louis, Madelon Rand (RIP), Joan Reale, Dorothy Rompalske, Ramsey Scott, Robyn C. Spencer, Ellen Tremper, Brooke Watkins, Salim Washington, and Kee Yong.

Thank you for your gifts, and your commitments to the word and the truth: Ashley Akunna, Zaheer Ali, Michael Arcenaux, Eroc Arroyo-Montano, Kenyette Barnes, Regina N. Bradley, Yaba Blay, Richard Brookshire, Jericho Brown, Clay Cane, Jasmyne Cannick, Maisy Card, Rebecca Carroll, Cody K. Charles, Roger Cipo, Hillary, Lemu, and King Kinti Crosley-Coker, Brittney Cooper, Timothy DuWhite, Chana Ginelle Ewing, Ayesha K. Faines, Kimberly N. Foster, Donte Gibson, Kieron Gillen, Jenn Jackson, Fatima Jamal, George M. Johnson, Myles E. Johnson, Kimberly Jones, Sarah Karim, Ibram X. Kendi, R.O. Kwon, Angel Laws, Creighton Lee, Inigo Leguda, Jamilah Lemieux, Felice León, Maurice Lucas, Tamika Mallory, Shane McCrae, Tiq Milan, Darnell L. Moore, Isabelle Mosado, Frank Mugisha, Eddie Ndopu, Mark Anthony Neal, Tambay Obenson, Oronike Odeleye, Josh Odom, Nnedi Okorafor, Daniel Jose Older, José Guadalupe Olivarez, LaSha Patterson-Verona, Brontez Purnell, Imani Perry, Tony Puryear, Helen Phillips, Ayanna Pressley, Donovan X. Ramsey, Franchesca Ramsey, Kiley Reid, Sonya Renee, Maurice Carlos Ruffin, Namwali Serpell, Aishah Shahidah Simmons, Danez Smith, Kaila Adia Story, Rebecca Theodore-Vachon, Steven Thrasher, Ezinne Ukoha, Ocean Vuong, Imani J. Walker, Lawrence Ware, Kirsten West-Savali, G. Willow Wilson, De’Shawn Charles Winslow, Ravyn Wngz, Ashley Yates, Damon Young, and Hari Ziyad.

Thank you, squad, for lifting me up, having my back, and “holding me down”: Clinton Adams, Irva Adams, Robert Agyemang, Trey Alexander, Yasmin Ali, Henry Anderson, Keisha-Gaye Anderson, Torrese Arquee, John Avelluto, Ivan Baptiste, Monique Baylor-McCall and family, Marie-Helene Bertino, Lemmie Blakemore, Karen Blitz, Jonathan Lee Bowles (you got next!), D’Ambrose Boyd, Jason Boston, Beqi Brinkhorst, Daniela Brown, Zedrick Brown, Aishah Bruno, Quonnetta Calhoun, Horace & Bryant Campbell-Coleman and family, Tyrone H. Cannon, Bernadette Canty, Ray Caspio, Seve Chambers, Madonna Charles, Sandra Clarke, Don “DJ” Davis, Kiev Davis and family, Camille DeBose, Lisa Del Sol, Gwen Devoe, Gerado “Gee” DiFeo, Robert Finley, Jr., Zinga A. Fraser, Erika Frierson, Steven G. Fullwood, Stephen Funches, Tungi Fussell, Alyssa Gargiulo, Tanisha Green, Natalia Guarin-Klein, Feargal Halligan, Justin LaRocca Hansen, Mobina Hasmi, Addie Hopes, Reginald Idlett, Lacy D. Jamison, Loretta Jenkins, James W. Jennings, Tasha Jones, Vondia “Peaches” Jones, Thomas Jordan, Greg Jurick-Blackshear, Meghan Keane, Jennifer Kikoler, David Kim, Amy Klopert, Kevel C. Lindsay, Katy Maslow, Dina Maugeri, Shayne McGregor, Kristen Meinzer, Kamela Mohabeer, Cristina Moracho, Cynthia Naughton-Goodman and family, Doreen Naughton, Michelle Naughton and family, Natalie Naughton and family, Nicole Naughton-Lincoln and family, Pamela Naughton-Allen and family, Barry Nelson, Kevin Dwayne Nelson, Karen Parker, Bernadette Parker-Canty, Lucille Pascall, Bones Patterson, Audrey Peterson, Anthonine Pierre, Alexzia Plummer, Temika Polk, Cory Provost, Anthony Punt, Rhea Rahman, Shais Rison, Carrie Roberts (RIP), Maya Rock, Marlene Saez, Michael Santana, Crystal Schloss, Jeffrey Severe, Nichole Simon, Mark Simpson, Jared Shuler, Kevin Smith, Moraima Smith, Nicole St. Clair, Tyrone “Flyronee” Stevens, Aimee Stevland, Renee Straker and family, Bernard Tarver; Mammen, Betsy, Saramma and Suma Thomas; Lealand Thompson, Randi Vegh (RIP), Melissa Velez, Stanley Walker, Raina Washington, Darryl “The Griot” Watson, Zora Wells, Jackie Williams, Trina Yearwood, and Keith Zackowitz.

To the entire Son of Baldwin community: Thank you for the discussions, the disagreements, the laughs, the tears, the love, and the pain. You have elevated me and provided sanctuary. You educated and enlightened me. Y’all are so, so dope. Thank you so very much.

To my JanFam, my Rhythm Nation: You are all black diamonds: Shawn Arnold, Vincent Bernard, Roger Brown, Elgin “Emperor” Charles, Michaela Harrison, Lamont Hicks, Harold Jacobs, Gray Lappin, Jordan Listenbee, J. C. and Mike Litherland-Neilson, Ify “Angie” Olie, Denise P. Oliver, Ralphie Scarborough, Robert Snowden, and Thomas “Trey” Simpson.

To my Marlboro Projects family: Through all the ups and all the downs—and those downs were ROUGH!—we found community. Thank you.

To the booksellers, libraries, readers, and all makers and lovers of books: Thank you. A special thank you to Sarah McGrath at Riverhead, Peter Blackstock at Grove, Kate Medina at Random House, Alison Lorentzen at Viking, Erin Wicks at HarperCollins, and Barbara Jones at Henry Holt.

To oppressed peoples caught up in the prison industrial complex: May true justice, rehabilitation, and reconciliation prevail.

Shout out to sex workers and to every House of every Ball. May you all be Safe.

Halsey Street: You are forever in my heart.

We speak your names: Tanisha Anderson, Ahmaud Arbery, Ricky Beeks, Sean Bell, Sandra Bland, Muhlaysia Booker, Rekia Boyd, Rashawn Brazell, Kalief Browder, Venida Browder, Michael Brown, Eleanor Bumpurs, Philando Castile, Stephon Clark, Coobah, John Crawford III, Kaladaa Crowell, Michelle Cusseaux, Amadou Diallo, Jamie Doxtator, Henry Dumas, George Floyd, Janisha Fonville, Ezell Ford, Korryn Gaines, Eric Garner, Erica Garner, Pearlie Golden, Ramarley Graham, Oscar Grant, Freddie Gray, the Grenfell Fire victims, Sakia Gunn, Akai Gurley, Latasha Harlins; Markis, Hannah, Jeremiah, Devonte, Abigail, and Ciera Hart; Yusuf Hawkins, Stephen Hicks, Tony Hughes, Kyra Inglett, Malik Jackson, Botham Jean, Atatiana Jefferson, Marquis Jefferson, Duanna Johnson, Kendrick Johnson, Kathryn Johnston, Bettie Jones, India Kager, Oliver Lacy, Stephen Lawrence, Errol Lindsey, Renisha McBride, Tony McDade, Laquan McDonald, Natasha McKenna, Brandi Mells, Ernest Miller, Margaret LaVerne Mitchell, Kayla Moore, Shanta, Jeremiah, and Shanise Myers, Yahira Nesby, Islan Nettles, the New Cross house fire victims, Sean Reed, Bailey Reeves, Tamir Rice, Aura Rosser, Relisha Rudd, Walter Scott, Anthony Sears, Konerak Sinthasomphone, Eddie Smith, Raymond Smith, Aiyana Stanley-Jones, Curtis Straughter, Breonna Taylor, David Thomas, Emmett Till, Tituba, Mary Turner, Matt Turner, Nia Wilson, and too, too many others.