Shawntai Brown is a poet, playwright, and teaching
artist with Inside Out Literary Arts Project, where
she assists in leading a youth workshop with Tarfia
Faizullah, among other tasks. She carries a Bachelor
of Art in English with a creative writing emphasis
from Western Michigan University. A Detroit
native, she spends her evenings dreaming up homemade board games and vegetarian meals, bending
pages into hand-crafted journals, and discouraging
her rabbit from eating her sofa.
author notes
The Detroit Free Press reported that the rate of
child homicide rose in Detroit during the Great
Recession. The recession also exacerbated struggles
of access to transportation, healthy and affordable
food, healthcare, jobs and education. While the
revitalization of Detroit has helped improve
a few neighborhoods, and the street lights are
being replaced city-wide, other issues remain in
the dark. Holiday celebrations once for children
are now considered danger zones, prompting
curfews, simultaneously protecting, excluding and
criminalizing youth.
This is to remember Aiyana Stanley-Jones, Renisha
McBride, Aaliyah Thomas, Kadisha James, Romaeo
Smith, Gerrod Lewis, Ileana Cuevas, Kenis Green Jr.
and many, many more.
Photography
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