Black Mental Health Poet Shares Feelings On Grief & Gun Violence In America

If you are looking for poetry that can both break you down and build you back up, young Black American poet Aisha Tariqa Abdul Haqq is on a mission to tackle grief in the Black community. Go to https://bit.ly/AishaTariqaBooks to find out more.

communal African American communal Aisha Tariqa Abdul Tariqa Abdul Haqq Black Grief

communal African American communal Aisha Tariqa Abdul Tariqa Abdul Haqq Black Grief

Black Mental Health Poet
Shares Feelings On Grief
& Gun Violence In
America 
For all those in the Black community who have seen lives cut short
by violence, hate or discrimination, Aisha Tariqa Abdul Haqq has
put her feelings into poetic verse for you.
Her writing centers on the emotion of grief,
which she describes as a particularly hard thing
to swallow. More specifically, her work is
focused on the profound loss, sadness and
oppression which is often endured by members
of the African American community like yourself.
The burden of depression is shouldered far more heavily by African Americans.
Moreover, members of the Black community who are diagnosed with depression
typically endure a more serious, chronic, and severely debilitating form of the disease.
Sadly, this unequal burden still exists despite
the fact that cases of depression and mental
illness tend to be heavily under-reported in
African American communities. This is due to
the fact that the issue still remains taboo.
In Aisha Tariqa’s opinion, grief is a poison that has been forced
down the throats of Black Americans like yourself for so long that
you have forgotten what it's like to be without it.
However, the poet also
understands that poetry has long
been regarded as a communal
way to deal with mental health
issues. 
You will find it easy to connect with her slam poetry style, a
medium of choice for many in the Black artistic community.
In her debut book, 'Four Years in
Chrysalis', she reflects upon the
waves of grief she endured following
the death of her baby brother due to
gun violence. 
One extract from the book that you will find particularly
moving runs as follows:
“If you should ache in the evenings for loved ones
wishing that the truth were less than true
Remember the soft hilarity of their face and the
gentle mischief smiles reminding you why smiles
exist Think of these things and ache further For
they will remind you of why you should ache”
Aisha Tariqa Abdul Haqq is a determined and passionate young poet.
She believes in the power of the written word to attain both individual
and communal catharsis. 
She encourages you to follow
her on Instagram, Facebook,
and Twitter at @AishaTariqa.
Go to https://bit.ly/AishaTariqaBooks to find out more.