Hannah Drake offers a powerful, inspirational message that has been heard in various arenas around the world. Hannah has had the distinguished privilege of opening for political and social justice activist, Angela Davis, National Book Award Winner and poet, Nikky Finney, author and motivational speaker, Iyanla Vanzant, honorable judge and TV personality, Judge Gregory Mathis, and rapper and music producer, BIG K.R.I.T. Hannah has served as a presenter at Ideas Festival at WKU and in Louisville, KY as a panelist with CNN chief national correspondent, John King. In April 2017, Hannah had the honor of curating an evening of performance artists for the Festival of Faiths entitled Compassion Rising which reflected how arts could have an impact on the compassion. In November 2017, Hannah’s poem Spaces was selected by the National Academy of Medicine to be featured in a national art exhibit that speaks to visualizing health equity. Also, Hannah was chosen as a 2017 Hadley Creatives, a partnership between the Community Foundation of Louisville and Creative Capital to help local artists build their professional practice, cultivate an expanded peer network and dedicate time for reflection and planning. In December 2017 Hannah was honored for her work by the Kentucky Alliance of Against Racist and Political Repression.
In 2014, she joined Roots and Wings, a dynamic group of artists that seek to bring social change to their community. In 2015 and 2016, Hannah Drake, along with the members of Roots and Wings were able to perform their written plays, The West End Poetry Opera and The Blood Always Returns, at the Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts.
“Always leave crumbs & footprints detailing your greatness for those that are coming behind you.”
In 2016, Hannah’s poem Formation poem went viral being shared over 20,000 times around the world. A lover of writing and social justice, Hannah’s new blog offers commentary on current events and has been viewed around the world. Hannah’s work is filled with passion and truth, believing that communication is indeed the beginning of change. Hannah is the author of several works of poetry, Hannah‘s Plea-Poetry for the Soul, Anticipation, Life Lived In Color, In Spite of My Chains, For Such A Time As This and So Many Things I Want to Tell You-Life Lessons for the Journey. Her debut novel Views from the Back Pew was received with stellar reviews and was performed on stage to a sold-out audience. Her follow-up novel, Fragile Destiny has been hailed as life-changing. Currently, Hannah is working on a new collection of poetry and life lessons, entitled Love, Revolution, and Lemonade. Her powerful, honest delivery has garnered her the nickname, "Brimstone." More information about Hannah can be found at her website www.hannahldrake.com.
Louisville is in a position to either start redesigning downtown so that it will be inviting for all people to come or watch it continue to fail. The nation is changing and it no longer trends towards whitewashing. If Louisville wants to change the economics of downtown, it can no longer lead with whitewashing downtown. It can no longer lead with allowing businesses to take up residence downtown with racist policies.
This month, while I appreciate you learning about Black people, I am challenging you to learn about White people. Take the time to learn the TRUE story of White history. Don’t take the time to believe the made up history but look at White people’s reality in America. Don’t take the “this isn’t me” route, but look at White history as a whole. And go into it knowing the history will not be pretty. It is not a history laced with lemonade and apple pie. It is not the history that you have been taught in high school textbooks. But it a history that is filled with murder, mayhem, and pain. It is a history filled with the unimaginable suffering of Black people at the hands of White people. If White people take the time to do that, everything you wanted to know about Black people will become evident. You can never know me and the truth of Black History in America until you are ready to face yourself.
I find it really rich but so on-brand for a group of people who have vilified Breonna Taylor and other Black women killed by police that as SOON as a White woman is shot, their first thought is to STEAL something Black women created for BLACK WOMEN. How very basic and typical of you. Your inherent nature is to steal from Black women. Not this time!
As I read their statements, their hypocrisy was like a weight sitting firmly on my chest. Do they actually believe what happened in DC is any different from what has been happening in Kentucky? Take off your blinders! Before any Kentucky politician speaks about Washington DC, you must first look at what happened right in my Old Kentucky Home.
Wednesday, January 6, I woke up celebrating that voters in Georgia snatched the coveted crown of leadership from Majority Leader (now Minority Leader) Mitch McConnell by voting Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff into the United States Senate. It was a glorious day as we also awaited Congress certifying […]
But for once, take yourself out of the center. Focus on the well-being of Kentucky and ask yourselves, is this the best use of our time to serve the people of this state? Ask yourself how will we use this session to impact the lives of Kentucky residents for good? How will us being in session make this state better for all people?
Maya Angelou said it best, “When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.” What is it that we are not believing?
What more does this world need to show Black women for us to believe? How much more disrespect must we take, before we believe? How many more times do they have to steal our work, our creativity, before we believe? How many more Breonna Taylor’s, Sandra Bland’s, and Atatiana Jefferson’s do we need? This world has repeatedly shown us what they think of Black women.
n America, the hardworking people are worth more than Mitch-I-Am-Rich-And-A-Bitch-McConnell, tossing us $600 after he fucked America. If Mitch is going to fuck us, KNOW we are worth much more for our services.
And Jada quickly felt the need to put on her White Savior Entanglement Cape and say, “I understand where you are coming from but let me just be clear. I never want to be the thing that was done to me by White women. I never want to be that.”
Girl please! Jada, on your WORST day, you can NEVER be “the thing” White women have been historically and presently to Black women. EVER. And inviting a privileged White woman on Red Table Talk isn’t going to make White women collectively see the light and change their ways.
Over the summer of 2020, America once again faced the harsh reality of racism as we dealt with the murders of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd. While there have sadly been many instances of Black people being murdered by “so-called” vigilantes and police officers, this time […]
