Author Archives: Darlene Burnett

“What’s so frustrating about being Black in America is convincing White people that what is happening to us is real.” James Baldwin

Dear America,

Our Skin is richly drenched in a kaleidoscope of beautiful shades of black and brown.

It is an expression. An art form drawing its patrons into its world. A written articulation that turns words into sentences. The sentences progress into paragraphs and the paragraphs push forth chapters that migrate into a narrative journey. One page at a time, the journey moves into an experience. With each page turned, one may be warnedContinue reading “The Implantation Of A Word”

In an unhurried pace the three of them walked down the Harlem block with interlocking hands. The touch of their palms and the reflections of their memories vaulted stories. Stories that passersby would never know. They were two generations of women with decades between them and diverse life experiences. An endowment of the grace andContinue reading “Remembering Harlem”

My spirit was restless. The freedom that I knew had been replaced with an uneasiness. A heightened level of suspicion as people walked by. To be more specific, young white males. Young White American men with dark hidden agendas.  Possibly depressed, potentially angry, maybe frightened of what they do not know or absent of theContinue reading “In Surveillance”

They are men. Men with bearded faces, indulgent brown eyes, and welcoming smiles. African American men living in America. One thirty-two years old, the other twenty-six. One living in the deep south, while the other resides in the north, above the Mason Dixon line. I know their faces and the beautiful bounty of their individualContinue reading “There By The Grace of God”

Her outer garment appeared heavily worn as if it had journeyed through countless generations of uncaring wear. It was dingy. Most likely due to the neglect of basic sanitation. The stretched wool cap covering her head, masked the presumed unkempt locks housed beneath it. Her bountiful head of coils took refuge from the showcase ofContinue reading “Don’t Judge A Book By Its Cover”