Grace and Graves is inspired by tragedies that disguise themselves as normal, necessary and even warranted. It examines the convenience of forgiveness and memory with respect to racial symbols. Black Americans are haunted by bigoted perceptions. The statues of murderers gleam in the center of elaborate cities, while the true stories of my ancestors are trapped beneath the earth.

Time forgives,
Culture conceals,
Evidence of your crimes dismissed,
Memories of your offenses forgotten,
The theory of you romanticized.
Yet the privilege of redemption evades us,

The grace of time neglects us,
The stain of your sin, your judgment,
withstands.

Our humanity remains unsettled,
Our worth frequently questioned,
Society has not yet rid us of your burden.

Though you’ve claimed innocence,
The consequence of you remains,
In bloodshed, in terror, in pain.

words_tayana dix. photo_emebet deeter. design_olivia ginsberg.

This article was published in Distraction’s fall 2020 print issue.