hannahdrake628
Hannah L Drake is a blogger, activist, public speaker, poet, and author of 11 books. She writes commentary on politics, feminism, and race and her work has been featured online at Cosmopolitan, The Bitter Southerner, Harper’s Bazaar and Revolt TV. In 2019 during Super Bowl Sunday, Hannah’s poem, "All You Had To Do Was Play The Game, Boy," which addresses the protest by Colin Kaepernick, was shared by film writer, producer and director Ava DuVernay, and then shared by Kaepernick. The poem has been viewed more than two million times.
Hannah’s commentary on life and challenging others to dream bigger have been recognized by First Lady Michelle Obama. Hannah Drake was featured on the Tom Joyner Morning Show with Jacque Reid to discuss her international movement, Do Not Move Off the Sidewalk, which addresses the power of holding your space. Hannah was selected by the Muhammad Ali Center to be a Daughter of Greatness which features prominent women engaged in social philanthropy, activism, and pursuits of justice. Hannah was selected as one of the Best of the Best in Louisville, Kentucky for her poem Spaces and recently was honored as a Kentucky Colonel, the highest title of honor bestowed by the Kentucky Governor recognizing an individual’s noteworthy accomplishments and outstanding service to community, state, and nation. Labeled as a change agent, Hannah’s message is thought-provoking and at times challenging, but Hannah believes that it is in the uncomfortable spaces that change can take place. “My sole purpose in writing and speaking is not that I entertain you. I am trying to shake a nation.”
You would think that everyone in Kentucky would rejoice. What an amazing way to honor a man whose very name brings honor to the city. However, that was not the case. While many people were pleased, the comments soon popped up on social media calling into question why Muhammad Ali is worthy of this honor? Truthfully, I found the comments to be typical. It was fine honoring Ali when they could just wear a t-shirt with his image on it. It was all good as long as Ali remained the person they constructed in their heads that suited them. It’s cool as long as it’s the Ali that floats like a butterfly and stings like a bee. They love that Ali. That is the Ali that doesn’t make them uncomfortable. That is the Ali they can brag about to their drinking buddies. That is the Ali that doesn’t challenge their way of thinking. Similarly, to the whitewashed version of Martin Luther King Jr that so many have constructed and that we will read “convenient tweets” about on Monday, as long as it’s the Ali that doesn’t ruffle their feathers, there is no problem. But do not forget it was here in his hometown of Louisville where Ali was called, “the Olympic nigger,” and was denied service in a “Whites Only” restaurant after returning from the Olympic Games in Rome in 1960.
It was such a small gesture, but at that moment, it meant so much to me. It was bigger than a basketball game. It was a moment that I got to see two Black men show love, support, and brotherhood towards each other. We often see Black men portrayed in the media in a negative light and finally, the world was able to catch a glimpse of true brotherhood.
I was also reminded to tell my Black brothers, “Chin up!”
It’s funny, to this day I STILL cannot remember his last name even though he was the first person I ever slept with… 15 & 22 The funny thing…I cannot even remember his last name Me…15Him…22Me… A childHim… A grown manWith those grown man handsAnd that grown man […]
This world demands EVERYTHING from Black women and offers Black women NOTHING in return. And we are tired. We have given everything we can and then some. We have paid debts that we didn’t incur with our very lives. We have upheld our end of a bargain that was NEVER for us.
Many people do a year in review highlighting what they have accomplished for the outgoing year. I have done that before, but as I grow and change, I have decided not to highlight all the things I have accomplished or participated in, but I would instead like to […]
It was with such joy that I scrolled through Twitter this morning, to find a video of a young man that walked into KFC, thinking he is going to tell off a young woman who he alleges wrote her telephone number on a receipt and gave to his […]
You know Conway and Sanders And Mike Pence and Miller Cohen and Kelly And Ivanka and Jared But do you recall The most famous liar of all? Trump the ridiculous liar (Liar) Had a very shiny nose (Like Kavanaugh) And if you ever saw it (Saw it) You […]
The way she knows to slide two fingers in your pussy and not just one, I taught her that The way she seems to instinctively know to suck your clit up and down until you cum in her mouth, I taught her that The way she lightly grazes […]
The way he runs his tongue over your clit, I taught him that The way he slides his tongue in and out of your pussy, I taught him that The way he kisses your neck as he slides his 12 inches inside of you, I taught him that […]
As a Black person, it was instilled in me as a young girl that being good in this world wasn’t good enough. For me to excel, I learned that it was required that I be one of the best if not the best. Most Black people were raised […]
