Today we’d like to introduce you to Aurielle Marie.
Aurielle, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
My story is ordinary, in that I’m a Black girl from the southwest side who grew up aware that because of my Blackness, my woman-ness, and how much money my parent made (or didn’t make), I was going to have to work hard and fight hard. Growing up, my mother loved writing and my father loved talking about the history of this country and of Black people in it. Even though I’ll always think of myself as a SWATS kid, I spent a ton of time living in December, in the Mableton suburbs, and learning from a whole bunch of different kinds of Black folks. My free time was spent in places where the Black community, political awareness, and creative expression were encouraged, beautiful spaces like 7Stages, the Youth Ensemble of Atlanta, etc. I was privileged to be around adults who encouraged me to speak my mind, to try on difficult frameworks for talking about my experiences, to try and fail in leadership, even as a young lil’ knucklehead. So, of course, when I fell in love with writing poetry and used it as a tool to process my own identity, my trauma, and the plight of Black people, no one was surprised.
When I was 17, Trayvon Martin was killed for walking home while Black. That same year, Troy Davis was convicted and put to death for a crime he didn’t commit. The poets in my community started talking more about how to confront racism, how to fight back, as poets and artists who cared about Black folks. Even then I think I realized it wasn’t enough? But I wasn’t sure what was next. I think that’s what prepped me to be politically aligned and ready to respond when Michael Brown lost his life at the hands of the State in 2014. I think it’s what prepared me to be a poet who addressed racism, sexism, and the things that put my people in danger, from the streets to the stage.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I used to think that I could only be one thing– either the poet or the activist. Just before everything went down in Ferguson, I was the artistic director of an amazing poetry & literacy organization. I had roots in that org, I was growing in my work and my professionalism, but when #ItsBiggerThanYou trended nationwide in August 2014, I dropped everything. I was SO irresponsible with my commitments and I let a lot of people down. I’ll always regret that. At the time, everything felt so urgent. Of course, when we’re young we think all decisions are life and death– especially when they’re actually life and death like our work were on-the-ground in Atlanta and Ferguson.
I found that not only can I do both, but I must also do both. The artistic work fuels my heart and my political work fuels my soul and my mind. Without both, am I even alive? Black women are such power! People try to box us in based on our bodies, our sexuality, what we look like, or how we talk. It takes determination and discipline, it takes balance and intentionality, but you really can pursue all of your passions and dreams. I got a homegirl who is an RN, hosts a podcast and sexual/reproductive health, and still has time to follow her passion for writing a book. My best friend is a teacher, an organizer, and still makes it to the neighborhood poetry slams in time.
We come from a whole lineage of Black women who accomplished more than what this world thought they could. We’re on the frontlines and in the backyard, we build community infrastructure and can still make time to pour into ourselves. That part takes boundaries, though. At my worst, I was walking around with PTSD and having panic attacks. I thought it was a bad look to say no, to turn down opportunities, to set boundaries. At my lowest, my friends and partner had to remind me that my value isn’t in what I produce, and that really saved my life.
Please tell us more about your work, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
I’m a poet, essayist, community organizer, and cultural strategist. I believe in the liberation of Black people, a liberation not tied to gender binaries [the idea that there are only two gender identities], heteronormative hierarchies [value systems that dehumanize LGBTQ folks], patriarchy, classism, or ableism. I believe jails are obsolete, I believe in a free Palestine, and I think sex workers have a right to the same protections as all other working-class folks. Depending on who you ask in Atlanta, I might be known most for organizing a protest at the CNN center that was 6,000 people strong. I might be known for creating/investing in community art spaces. Hell, I might be known for that time I was kidnapped by the police or trapped at the top of Stone Mountain by white supremacists. But what I’m most proud of, is that I fight for young folks on the margins, and I often use poetry and hip-hop to do it. I was named one of Creative Loafing’s 20 people to watch for this work and it won’t stop! I’ve challenged Hillary Clinton on policy, I’ve advocated for Black lives on CNN, I’ve written some really cute poetry, and I’ve shut highways down from Atlanta, to Ferguson, to Oakland. Viva La Revolucion!
I’m as much a poet and essayist as I am an organizer, so what I love about that side of my work is that in workshops, on the road while I’m touring, in classrooms or detention centers, wherever I’m talking about poetry and justice with folks, I’m always practicing storytelling and risk, both on the page and in community. My poetry addresses my sexuality, my body, my trauma, and the world I live in. I share myself intimately with audiences, with students, with peers, and that feels sometimes even more radical than shutting highways down. Revolution is about relationships, and so we build those. I love facilitating workshops and I love what happens when you dare people to journey into the softest parts of themselves and write.
Who have you been inspired by?
I’ve always been guided by the life and works of artists who spoke out about the oppression of their time. Zora Neale Hurston’s story-gathering work has always inspired me to tell my people’s truths. Nina Simone– what a bad bitch. Ruby Dee joined James Baldwin and other artists to form the Association of Artists for Freedom and when I learned about her work as a freedom fighter, it blew my mind. Of course, the activist and poet Assata Shakur, my OG June Jordan, and Gwendolyn Brooks. In the current day, activists and story-tellers bring me so much inspiration. Every last leader of Southerners on New Ground, a Black feminist organization in Atlanta! If you’re trying to empower your community, free the land and our people, go there. Don’t walk, RUN. My sister Raquel Willis is fighting for the visibility of queer and trans folk every day and it brings me joy. No matter where she goes, my sister, Natina Marie is always building platforms for the women coming behind her. And speaking of platforms for women, DJ Hourglass, my sister on the 1s & 2s, uses her divine gift to pour into Black space and bring us sonically revolutionary space all the time. I see you, sis! Danez Smith, my mentor and a griot of this era. Mary Hooks is the brain behind the #BailOutBlackMamaz movement, and its amazing sitting at her feet to learn how we get our folks free. Follow all these folks on Twitter, learn about their work, and watch your mind soar. Thank me later.
Pricing:
- My debut book, Gumbo Ya Ya, is about growing up Black and a young LGBTQ woman in the south. It drops from Write Bloody Publishing this September for only 16 dollars a copy.
- I am currently booking for workshops, speaking engagements, and performances for the 2019-2020 academic school year. Booking rates are really affordable!
Contact Info:
- Website: auriellemarie.com
- Email: info@auriellemarie.com
- Instagram: YesAurielle
- Twitter: YesAurielle
- Other: https://www.clippings.me/users/auriellemarie
Image Credit:
Kalima Amilak, Steve Erbhardt
Getting in touch: VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
