Nelly Bess
Black Joy
How uncomfortable are you
That there is nothing to police here
How violent we are to love each other to death
Our laughs a group of hostages killed by compliments
That held us up
Before you made the sidewalk have to
Ain’t it criminal for us to steal this moment
Robbery how we pickpocketed each other’s pain
The corners of a smile
Become two hands in a stick up
Forced to show everything it got
Teeth the only white thing in the room
Jersey raised poet Nelly Bess believes all people are living libraries from which we can learn from. Her mission as an artist is to take words from the page and transform them into lyrical protest. As an organizer Nelly believes in the power of art to educate and build stronger communities. In pursuit of this mission, Nelly has created and facilitated a series of programs for young people as well as adults that use poetry and music to help them find their voices as change agents in their communities.