Black folk have been in the 99% since the Middle Passage. Slavery made sure the majority of us would never be in that 1% by terrorizing our African souls and dismantling our families, our language, our culture, our religion, our bodies, and our spirit. As poet Nikky Finney reminded us when she accepted her National Book Award last month, “Black people were the only people in the United States ever explicitly forbidden to become literate.” Read more...