This work began as a research project with a three-fold location, people, place, problem. Positioned between ‘I’ and the ‘we’ is the lived experience of Rethabile Zilila which is used to explore the larger social problem - symbolic violence, as experienced by (Black) women in South Africa.

this dark skin on a black girl reads like sin like a signpost inviting violence

like a gathering of bodies unseen

this is how i become a problem

i am a black woman with a mouth everywhere i go there i am

a remnant of black girls whose mouths ran too long, too far, too much, too black, too woman

sanctioning silence labelled another angry black woman

but those of us with mouths chant screams:

HERE! THERE. STILL…

injustice.

Poeta Grace Consulting is a creative, wellness company utilising a multimodel approach to advancing health and wellbeing. It has a multidisciplinary approach drawing from Health Sociology, Psychology, and Drama Therapy.