A lot of people get Chicago wrong. I’ve developed this protective feeling about how we’re portrayed, and at the same time, I’m acutely aware of the issues we face and the root causes of these issues. Jamila Woods Read Quote
They say Chicago is for haters. No one will just sweat each other and say, ‘Oh, you’re so good,’ if you’re not. Which is another reason I’m inspired to stay. Jamila Woods Read Quote
There is a lot of history buried in Chicago that I still have yet to discover. Jamila Woods Read Quote
I read ‘Song of Solomon’ by Toni Morrison in college, and it just blew my mind. Jamila Woods Read Quote
When I started writing poetry, it was always in very hip-hop influenced spaces: Someone would teach a Nas song side-by-side with a Gwendolyn Brooks poem, and we’d talk about the connections between those things. Jamila Woods Read Quote
I really liked ‘Blk Girl Art.’ It’s like a manifesto saying why I create, whether it’s poetry or music. Jamila Woods Read Quote
A lot of people of color and the Black Lives Matter movement will talk about what’s really happening, but it seems like you can’t get the black president to say something that’s obvious about what’s happening to black people in this country. Jamila Woods Read Quote
