Feature

Poetry is Powerful Enough

By Melanie Curry protests occurring nationally and in [and] there was so much stuff to Boston. Currently, the account has touch upon. And, I had to say a lot The pain, anguish, beauty, over 2,000 followers. A few months about it.” laughter, and life that develops later on Aug. 12, Firmin created her Firmin said she wanted the from Blackness is too deep and too website where she posts her work account to be a space for Black strong to be held inside. First-year through a blog. voices to be heard by white people Rejeila Firmin’s poems Being Black “Sometimes I didn’t feel and by other Black people. She is Activism, Brown Sugar Baby, and comfortable in the beginning said she was tired of Black voices Breonna Taylor, I Will Never Stop going to protest because it was being overlooked and wanted to Saying Your Name originate from just a lot of people, so I wanted to do something to showcase the pain the depth of her mind and soul as find a way I could still engage in the Black community experienced a coping mechanism and form of activism from a safe space,” Firmin from the murders of people such activism. said in an Zoom interview with as George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, On June 3, 2020, Firmin created The Intersectionalist from Boston, Tony McDade, etc. an Instagram page for her poetry Massachusetts. “There were so “They would have done it to me named WordsbyRei as a way to many Black voices not being heard, too; they would have done it tocontribute to the racial protests any of us; they will do it to any of us,” are three lines from Breonna Taylor, I Will Never Stop Saying Your Name. Firmin transferred her pain and fear into stanzas, detailing the frustration she experienced after hearing the verdict for Breonna Taylor’s case. Most of her poems are centered around activism and her personal experiences. Growing up in Milton, Massachusetts, Firmin experienced microaggressions frequently and turned these experiences into ranting sessions through By Gabriella Leonel / The Intersectionalist her short stories and First-year Rejeila Firmin uses her poetry as a form of activism to uplift Black poems. Typically, Firmin voices and showcase the beauty in Blackness. writes every day, using her

experiences from race to her the different forms of writing at home. WRITES was sort of everyday life as inspiration. and how to write both short that outlet that I had to find my “I guess, I’ve always been writing stories and poetry. Firmin said confidence in my writing that I about subjects that would be this program gave students of didn’t find anywhere else.” considered activism,” Firmin said. color and marginalized voices the The transition from short stories “That can range from love and opportunity to receive an education to poetry came from Firmin’s relationships to political activism to outside of their school, learn what it teacher in the program. During empowerment.” means to be a writer, and what the their class, her professor required Surprisingly, her love for poetry writing industry looks like. students to free-write about any wasn’t an instinct. She experienced her self-discovery journey in her Being Black is Activism topic in any form of writing. Firmin said her writing initially gravitated pre-teens when she initially debated towards shorter forms of writing becoming a chef. However, during An empowerment piece. until it became condensed into this middle school quest, she accidentally stumbled upon her passion for poetry while struggling She swims in a pool of honey, poetry. Despite most of her work being poetry, Firmin said she doesn’t in English class and doodling in her as the summertime sun consider herself a poet. She hasn’t journal as a pastime. paints picked her focus for the Creative “English was very hard for me, so I found it very telling that I liked to write, partly because it challenged her skin gold. Her brown skin is glowing Writing program and is weighing her options between non-fiction and poetry. me in ways history and math from within. “I'm definitely passionate about didn’t,” Firmin said. Her touch is tender and poetry, and I find that it’s a lot Doodling turned into writing, and eventually her interest in cooking was replaced by this new she moves with intention. easier,” Firmin said. “It’s like the form that I turn to when I want to be the most creative.” found hobby. Her focus from pots You’ve never seen In addition to being a writer, and pans changed to pens and effortless Firmin is also a photographer and parchment. Poetry wasn’t the first form of writing she explored. Initially, beauty like this before. Beauty like this is the has taken all of the photos on her website. She said she enjoys taking photos of Black people because writing served as a ranting session epitome of raw. she wants to accurately depict the for her frustrations, and towards She’s sweet like brown beauty of Blackness in her pictures the end of middle school, short stories became her focus. In her sophomore year of high sugar. Like cocoa butter and and dismantle negative perceptions of the Black community. “I wanted to make my own school, Firmin’s guidance counselor affection. portrayals of how I see us, because recommended EmersonWRITES, But there’s more to her you always hear about these white a free urban, creative writing program that offers workshops to than complexion saviour movies and how white people will make us feel seen,” high school students enrolled in Firmin said. “But, I think it’s Boston Public Schools. “[EmersonWRITES] taught me important that we make ourselves From October of 2017 to that as a woman of color, I do have feel seen, and we make ourselves February of 2018, Firmin a place in the writing industry,” have the image that we actually participated in EmersonWRITES Firmin said. “It’s not something have in real life.” where she learned from Emerson that’s unrealistic, especially since at College graduate students about the time, that’s what I was hearing

‘I photograph for work and for life.’: Photojournalist and professor Dr. Gina Gayle takes on reporting on race as a Black journalist

By Ziqi Wang

Dr. Gina Gayle grew up sneaking into her father’s darkroom, mesmerized by watching photos develop to highlight the Black members in her community. Years later, she followed his footsteps by becoming a photojournalist, reporting on those same communities to document the Black experience. “I noticed how my father documented our community growing up and during a final interview, he stated that he always tried to show his people in their best light and their glory,” Gayle said. “I decided it would be my life-long project to do that [too] so whatever city or space or place I am working in or living in, I document the love and positivity of and in our community because it isn’t hard to find.” Gayle joined Emerson College’s journalism department this fall 2020 semester as one of four Black journalism professors, teaching Foundations of Journalism and Photojournalism. She is the first woman of color to work for the San Francisco Chronicle’s photography department, echoing the same experiences of her late father, James F. Gayle who was the first Black photographer at the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Most of her work utilizes multimedia elements to storytell aspects of Blackness. Some of her pieces include New Orleans Zulu project, which documents the recovery of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, and Picture Me, a project that tells the stories of children in foster care waiting to be adopted in Mississippi. The Intersectionalist spoke with Dr. Gina Gayle from her home in

Photo Coutesy of Dr. Gina Gayle Boston, Massachusetts about her philosophy of journalism and goals while teaching at Emerson. The following interview has been edited for clarity and style.

The Intersectionalist: What led you to decide to teach at Emerson?

Gayle: I heard about Emerson a year or two before I applied. I think they had [an open] position, but I wasn't ready because I was

still in my PhD program at the Newhouse School at Syracuse. Then, when this position came about, I met [Raul Reis, Dean of the School of Communication], and Janet Kolodzy, [the Chair of the Journalism Department] at a conference.

Boston wasn't my destination, but there were jobs. And then I got here, and it's everything that people were saying. The students are amazing, my co-workers seem very dedicated, and I like the conversations that we're having.

The Intersectionalist: What do you hope to accomplish while working here?

Gayle: If we are able to train the new generation—the newest journalists going out there to be innovative—it’s going to help the industry. What I hope to accomplish here, with my big mouth [and] my own projects, is changing the industry, because we have to have a strong journalistic entity in this country, and it's being attacked.

The Intersectionalist: Before this interview, I researched you and came across a speech you made earlier this year on the benefits of diversity in photojournalism. You spoke of your experience of “being the diverse one in the room.” I also experienced this struggle when I first arrived at Emerson in fall 2017.

Initially, I tried not to be the “Chinese expert,” so I didn’t report on either Chinatown or Emerson’s international student community. What does this mean to you? Do you see it as an opportunity to educate people, or you think it’s just who you are as a person?

Gayle: When I talk to other people [about what it’s like] to be the diverse one in the room, it's not to take away from the issues and the situations that people of color, Black people, and Black women have. But it's a way for people to understand differences.

I get what you're saying [about] how you tried not to be the Chinese student, and the poster girl for writing what is going on and correcting people because that gets tiring, exhausting, and overwhelming. It's [important] for other people to do their own research. Now, when they are too lazy to do their own research correctly, then I do have to correct [and] educate them.

But that’s not my job. I can't educate someone on the entire Black community. I can educate them on some stupid stereotypes that they might have. I can educate them on my experience—that's what I set out to do. What the media portrays about us is not my entire experience.

There's so much about me that is “diverse” or not the norm. I don't have a problem helping people understand or to try and see the diverse parts of themselves. Then, they can think about other people's experiences, other people's diversity, and the stuff that they have to offer to society, [their] community, and the world. The Intersectionalist: What does intersectionality mean to you? How has being a Black woman influenced your career?

Gayle: [Intersectionality is] such a new word for me but I will tell you that if I had to think of myself in terms of intersectionality, I would say that being a Black person is the biggest and the most important part of who I am.

I know what you were saying about [how] you didn't want to be pigeonholed, and that's a fine line to balance. You want to be able to tell different stories, because a [lot] of non-Chinese and non-POC have told our stories, and so if they can do it, [then] how come we can't go out and tell every story?

It’s interesting to talk about intersectionality because I just bring all of it with me. Wherever I go—here comes me as a Black person, here comes me as a woman, here comes me as a loud Black woman, here comes me as a big Black woman, and now here comes me an educated, loud, big Black woman with a PhD.

The Intersectionalist: What made you want to be a photographer? What are some of your most memorable projects?

Gayle: My dad was a photographer for the Cleveland Plain Dealer in Ohio. So, I grew up with a darkroom in my basement, and I loved it. I remember sneaking in the basement, knowing not to open the door but to knock on it. It was pure magic, watching a picture

evolve in this chemical group. It Some images have been published from minority communities that was just amazing. as singles, some as picture are going into journalism? that I was going packages, some as photo stories, I hung out with him, going to some as books or multimedia Gayle: First of all, I would say, photograph especially for bar mitzvahs, students, get weddings, and involved in family reunions. some kind of That's what we professional did for fun. I was organization. this little assistant, I'm a member and I held the of the National flash for him. Association of Then, when I know there’s the I got out into Asian American school, I went Journalists into undergrad Association, for marketing. I Native American did a bunch of Journalists other stuff, and Association, and nothing was ever the National as fulfilling. I Association was afraid to be of Hispanic a photographer Journalists. I won't when my father say it's life-saving, was alive because but it's soulI didn't want to saving. When we compete with used to be able to him, and I didn't go to in-person want to be worse conferences, it than him. I was like a family never thought reunion. Black Journalists. into multimedia The work of storytelling BIPOC people because I was a going into Photo Courtesy of Dr. Gina Gayle still photographer. But the most Photo of Malcolm X taken by Gina’s father, James F. Gayle, in journalism is to find a place that important thing Cleveland, Ohio, 1960s. you are passionate is that I'm a about, that you storyteller and multimedia gives me projects, and then there are “life believe in, and [you] don't back more tools in order to tell the story. projects” that end when they end. down. Let them hear you because if you are not there, then that So this is how I, and perhaps some The Intersectionalist: What kind viewpoint, your message, your other photojournalists, look at it: I of suggestions would you give to way of telling stories—they won't photograph for work and for life. BIPOC people, or people coming happen.