The Waterford spoken word artist Sasha Terfous has filmed a spoken word piece with in collaboration with the Adrian Brinkehoff Poetry Foundation, which is concerned with her experience growing up as a mixed race woman in Ireland.
“I do not know what it means to be black….
It’s growing up without a dad,
Being part of the 51.2% of black kids in the 90’s who were fatherless.
A white mom tearing a comb through my hair because nobody taught her how to braid.
It’s 10 years of flat irons and chemicals because nobody was there to tell a little girl,
“Your hair is as old as humanity itself.
Each strand tells the stories of your ancestors.
Each curl represents black history and the ongoing fight to keep growing no matter how small the progress may seem.”
Niall Byrne is the founder of the most-influential Irish music site Nialler9, where he has been writing about music since 2005. He is the co-host of the Nialler9 Podcast and has written for the Irish Times, Irish Independent, Sunday Times, Totally Dublin, Cara Magazine, Red Bull and more. Niall is a DJ, co-founder of Lumo Club, event curator, Indie Sleaze club promoter, and producer of gigs and monthly listening parties & events in Dublin.
