Reboot: The Black Girl Episodes
Anastacia-Reneé
we chose a different actress for our reboot—the other one was just—too much & she did not know how to stay in her place.
pilot
the black girl goes to cast her vote
wearing hope & anger around her neck
& is questioned about her i.d.
& is questioned about her citizenship
& is questioned about her address
the black girl yanks up her sleeve
so that the robot can snap a picture of her forearm
497-38-9135
& then when she’s verified
the robot makes a generated thought
“human your necklace looks vaguely like a noose
in my experience this means danger.”
& just like that
the vote is casts
& she walks away
without the ability
to look up
stiff.
stuck.
Reboot
let’s start out with scene that could be watched by any age group. let’s make our main girl look sexy, smart & like one of those geeky black girls who loves to code. but—let’s have her act like it’s her first time at a library.
episode (1.)
the black girl realizes she is the only black girl
in the library & she runs through the shelves
in the shape of a tongue licking every genre
whatever will land inside her mouth
whatever will weigh heavy or light
like a volcano of words bubbling over her teeth then spilling
a fire so hot she cannot believe she gets first pick
of stealing every banned book
before they are extinguished (here.)
_____________________________
we decided she should be the only black person in the library because we want to keep our white viewers under the impression that black women don’t read books. we want to ride the train with all the hoopla of banned books & so we’ll add a shot of toni morrison’s “the bluest eye” book cover & we might even see if the actress looks good in blue eye contacts for this scene.
Reboot
episode (2.)
the black girl is searching for an immunity shot
all the yellow & green mucous
thick inside her mouth
all the words falling like trees
a word for no
a word for yes
a sound for i-can’t-fucking-believe-this
(again)
a trumpet she has to blow
has to be her own arch angel waiting to fix it
no anti-biotic strong enough to stop
patriarchy gone viral
a disease everyone is snotting
hate flinging around the room
masked as something we all carry
just keep taking immunity shots
Anastacia-Reneé (she/they) is an award-winning queer writer, educator, interdisciplinary artist, playwright, former radio host, TEDX speaker, and podcaster. She is the author of (v.) (Gramma/Black Ocean); Forget It (Black Radish); Side Notes from the Archivist (HarperCollins/Amistad); and Here in the (Middle) of Nowhere (HarperCollins/Amistad). Side Notes From The Archivist was selected as one of the NYPL Best Books of 2023 and as one of the American Library Association’s RUSA Notable Books of 2024. Anastacia-Reneé is a recipient of the James W. Ray Distinguished Artist Award and was featured by NBC News in “Queer Artist of Color Dominate 2021's Must See LGBTQ Art Shows,” for “(Don’t Be Absurd) Alice in Parts,” an installation at the Frye Art Museum. Anastacia-Reneé served as Seattle Civic Poet (2017-2019) during Seattle’s inaugural year of UNESCO status. She was also Hugo House Poet-in-Residence and Jack Straw Curator. Her work has been anthologized and published widely.
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