Hobart Park MINI ISSUE: BLACK ARTISTS FEATURE
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Hobart Park ARTISTS Makayla Binter & Jaelyn Taylor EDITORS-IN-CHIEF Ariel U. Chung & Cathy Xu LAYOUT EDITOR Miguel Donado
In memory of Matthew Ajibade, Tanisha Anderson, Ahmaud Arbery, Anthony Ashford, La'Vante Biggs, Sandra Bland, Rumain Brisbon, Rayshard Brooks, Michael Brown, Paterson Brown, Philando Castile, William Chapman II, Wendell Celestine, Keith Childress Jr., Alexia Christian, Jamar Clark, John Crawford III, Tyree Crawford, Terrence Crutcher, Michelle Cusseaux, Albert Joseph Davis, Samuel Dubose, Salvado Ellswood, Miguel Espinal, Dominique Rem’mie Fells, George Floyd, Ezell Ford, Robert Fuller, Peter Gaines, Eric Garner, Brendon Glenn, Freddie Gray, Akai Gurley, Eric Harris, Kevin Hicks, Anthony Hill, Mya Hill, Dominic Hutchinson, Atatiana Jefferson, Jame Johnson, Bettie Jones, Lamontez Jones, David Joseph, India Kager, Brian Keith Day, Felix Kumi, Victor Manuel Larosa, Quintonio Legrier, Marco Loud, Asshams Pharoah Manley, George Mann, Joseph Mann, Michael Lee Marshall, Kevin Matthews, David McAtee, Elijah McClain, Laquan McDonald, Natasha McKenna, Keith Harrison McLeod, Riah Milton, Randy Nelson, Michael Noel, Paul O'Neal, Dante Parker, Dyzhawn Perkins, Richard Perkins, Nathaniel Harris Pickett, Nina Pop, Junior Prosper, Billy Ray Davis, Jerame Reid, Tamir Rice, Darius Robinson, Tony Robinson, Torrey Robinson, Troy Robinson, Calin Roquemore, Michael Sabbie, Oluwatoyin Salau, Jonathan Sanders, Antronie Scott, Walter Scott, Demarcus Semer, Frank Smart, Alonzo Smith, Darrius Stewart, Breona Taylor, Christian Taylor, Mary Truxillo, Benni Lee Tignor, Willie Tillman, Phillip White, Janet Wilson, and many more who were loved...
Table of Contents Ariel Chung & Cathy Xu | Editors' Note
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Artists
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Makayla Binter | Untitled 1
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Jaelyn Taylor | loophole
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Makayla Binter | Untitled 2
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Makayla Binter | Phly on the Wall
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Jaelyn Taylor | bitter envy
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Makayla Binter | Untitled 3
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Jaelyn Taylor | martyr
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Makayla Binter | Untitled 4
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Makayla Binter | Untitled 5
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Jaelyn Taylor | respite
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Editors' Note Dear Readers, The following mini issue is in response to the renewed momentum to the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020. Hobart Park supports the movement and stands with those who have contributed at all levels: community leaders and educators, mutual aid supporters, protestors, activists, BIPOC, and allies. As a campus literary and art magazine, we have the responsibility to share the work and voices of our artists to our community. However, Hobart Park is also committed to representing Davidson’s diverse population of artists and amplifying marginalized voices. We have decided to publish this mini issue, featuring two Black Davidson artists: Makayla Binter ‘20 and Jaelyn Taylor ‘22. We acknowledge that the movement does not demand action only at its peaks, but rather it necessitates consistent and ongoing solidarity; our responsibility extends beyond this issue of Hobart Park and into our regular publications. Being based in Davidson, we urge our readers to follow and support the work of local groups, such as Charlotte Uprising, SouthEast Asian Coalition, and the Davidson Community Fund. Please learn from and share their work and donate resources you may have to local mutual aid funds, so that we can take care of each other and keep us safe. Your Editors-in-Chief, Ariel Chung and Cathy Xu 1
Artists
Makayla Binter is a Davidson
College 2020 graduate, who majored in Biology and Studio Art. Her works are investigating the multifaceted pieces of the subject's personalities, showcased through motion. 2
Jaelyn Taylor is our featured poet
from Orlando, Florida. She is currently a Digital and Computational Studies major at Davidson College and class of '22. Taylor is passionate about digital storytelling and bridging the gap between sociology and technology. To quote her Twitter bio, she is a "wannabe radical bitch." 3
Makayla Binter | Untitled 1
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loophole
Jaelyn Taylor a slave i am to this skin colored dark by sun and moon the stars that dot my complexion blazing hot scars of inequity. a slave i am to this skin no matter my attempts to claim her to cherish her to hold her to grieve with her she holds me and i hold her captive. a slave i am to my mind that is wrapped in this skin as she seeks to expand to learn to love to find joy in this skin she finds she is limited by her own thoughts her own love of boxes and checks cute neat things that fit that aren’t blurred just black and white fuck the grey. 6
but she loves the grey the seduction of the unknown the joy of limitless options the weightless freedom of existence. it licks her skin and caresses her mind feeds her soul tends to her heart and she flourishes blossoms hits a peak orgasmic that rushes her with euphoria. and yet. a slave i am to this skin. or rather the thought of this skin enslaved. white faces, white pages i write down her sins and blank the page remains. here we are two slaves no sins to atone no money to our name nowhere to go looking at each other in the mirror wondering what the fuck are we gonna do now. 7
Makayla Binter | Untitled 2 8
Makayla Binter | Phly on the Wall 9
bitter envy Jaelyn Taylor
whether in peace or in power. george floyd— david mcatee— breonna taylor— ahmaud arbery— tony mcdade— jamee johnson— and so on and so forth and so on and so forth. are all at rest. how bitter the envy bubbles in my chest.
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Makayla Binter | Untitled 3 11
martyr Jaelyn Taylor
in memory of oluwatoyin salau, riah milton, dominique “rem’mie” fells, and countless others Black womxn lost in the mix…
i used to be afraid of death. i still fear the things i cannot control. but what i fear what i dread and what i loathe above all else is becoming a martyr for a movement i didn’t believe in to people that never loved me let alone know me. my protectors harm me my lovers hate me my heart betrays me because often i find myself flying into their arms knowing it will hurt knowing it will scar knowing it could kill. if i cannot find solace with those who march with me how can i trust anyone who marches for me? if life isn’t for everybody and death is. well. 12
should they put me on that pedestal and treat me as their god then may my name never be spoken in vain and may another Black femme never suffer the same
Makayla Binter | Untitled 4 13
Makayla Binter | Untitled 5
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respite Jaelyn Taylor
I looked up to him pleading, on my knees: “Sir, My body is tired. My mind is exhausted. My heart is empty. My soul is grieved. A moment’s respite, I beg of you, please.” A shot to my stomach Tears burn my face A knee breaks my neck. Silly of me to assume that rest was allowed for a nigger like me.
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