WEEK 12
The original text:
My creative response:
Being who you are
Undefiled rice
derived from paddy
Wooden chopstick
taught by daddy
The mutual colours
and mutual horizons
of the two
made me
The yellow tan color
Under my skin
Appreciated by the yellow community
Depreciated by the white community
Flowing from one to another
Learning new history to fit in
Struggling with the approval
Fighting with the misunderstanding
When with my family
Fool
Follow the masses?
Follow the cultures?
No!
Stop being a fool to even think
They will ever accept
“Ni yao duo gen wai guo ren yiqi”
Saying that I need to follow the white community?
“Ni hai bu gou nuli”
Saying that I am not trying hard enough?
I’m a pure Chinese
Say it loud
Say it proud
I’m who I am
I accept who you are
I admire who you are
I respect who you are
I support who you are
I appreciate who you are
Say it loud
Say it proud
We are who we are
We ain’t lose my culture
We ain’t follow the masses with despite
I like folks and table-knives
I like cereals and sandwiches
I like potatoes and tomatoes
But I love rice and chopsticks
Integrating what I have
And what I don’t
Appreciating what I have
And what I don’t
Yes, we need approval
But what if we never were approved?
Confidence!
Walk like a lion
Run like a wolf
Fly like a dragon
Its confidence made us
Its identity made us
Its life made us
It’s you made you
Being who you are
Love yourself
Enhance yourself
Like a lion
Like a wolf
Like a dragon
My analysis:
Being Afakasi by Grace Taylor is a strong spoken word poem, and I find it interesting. When I first listened to her spoken word, I actually didn’t know what Afakasi is, I went on google and found Afakasi is used to describe people who have one Samoan parent and one Palagi parent. Grace Taylor was born in a half Palagi and half Samoan family.
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In Grace’s spoken word, she mentioned she was made by “English roses snow blooded lines, Samoan tattoo coco blooded lines intertwined,” she used metaphors of “English roses” and “Samoan tattoo” to describe her parents. I think this is very interesting to use specific metaphors to define her family and culture.
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Grace also mentioned she couldn't fit into the brown community because of her white skin, “This white skin nurtured in a brown community, struggling to find unity, within me.” She felt she’s excluded because she’s mixed and she doesn’t have the brown skin as many do. I think she felt the loneliness mostly from her family because her family made fun of her white skin as well. “Even within my own family, RACISM, spoken from the mouths of my own blood, saying it as a joke? Saying it with love? No! Don’t be so naive to think I don’t know it’s about me you speak.” Grace’s family made some jokes about her, and they think Grace won’t be able to understand their jokes about her skin tone. That’s why she felt she’s “whiter and whiter.”
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Grace also cited few conversations about her from others, they were talking about Grace’s identity, first they thought Grace is palagi but Grace’s mum is Samoan, this made her an Afakasi.
“Ummmteine palangi”,
“I hear her mum issar-mo-win?”
“Who? Grace? She’safakasi man, hamo hard.”
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Grace is a strong woman to speak up about her identity; she talked about “I’m a half Samoan, say it loud, say it proud, Feeling I gotta be a little louder, Speak a little browner.” This is to show that she’s upset with the racism and she wants to be more accepted. That’s why she needs to speak louder and browner, because it’s the only way she can be heard and accepted. She talked about, “What I gotta do to prove I’m just as Samoan as you?” Many don't believe she’s a Samoan and they need her to prove she’s a Samoan.
She later talked about “Your blood flows the same as mine, I’m still learning my culture and identity, but I feel what you feel.” This is to interact with the brown community and tell them she’s one of the community.
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Grace’s poem is powerful to interact with the people who have lack of confidence in their identity, and it told people not to identify people by looking at their skin tone. I think it’s unfair to the people who are not fully blooded to their kind such as Afakasi because they must feel much sadness to not look like much Samoan and other fully blooded brown people keep reminding them that they are not hundred percent Samoan. Because of two different family backgrounds combing together would make people hard to identify themselves. For example, Samoan might think Grace as a white instead of Samoan; White people might not believe Grace as a white. Strangely, Grace considers herself as a Samoan instead of Palagi. I have a friend; she’s half Chinese and half Korean because she grew up in China then she identifies herself much more Chinese instead of Korean. I think Grace is the same; maybe she grew up in Samoa then she considers herself much more Samoan.