So This Happened......

So Carla Lawson & I were having a DM discussion about poetry & lemon pepper chicken wings when out of nowhere she said "I was riding through downtown Oakland and saw you and Langston on a the building pic and I screamed. I really have to get out more."

I was confused & replied "Huh?" She then tells me about a huge picture of my Son & I posted in Downtown Oakland. I was confused as hell but kept asking questions. She tells me "between 14th & 24th st maybe on Broadway or Telegraph" 🤦🏿. That's hella blocks but I jump in the car to see what's going on. At first I thought it was the building on 13th Street that had the homie Fab, Shayla, Kevin Allen & them...nope. Drove uptown to look and I saw a picture of Prentice, his child's mother & two of his kids. "Oh shit!" I yelled.

Then drove up a little more then boom!

This is not only amazing but also very humbling. I've put in over 15 years of work as a spoken word artist, activist, curator & mentor in the City of Oakland. My Mother used to work down the street from this spot & I'd catch the BART downtown to take computer classes after school & wait for her after.

Now my son is initialized & that takes the joy to a whole other level.

BTW his shirt said "Legacy" but if you saw us at the 2020 Black Joy Parade he was knocked out, sleeping on my shoulders & I woke him up to take this pic. 😂

Speaking of "Joy" thank you to the people at the Black Joy Parade for giving the green light on this photo of not only My Son & I but also many other beautiful black folks.

Oh, AND we're in coloring books!!