JTOH Cultural Expressions 

The Displaced People of Annunciation

7001 W 52nd Ave, Arvada, CO 80002 (303) 947-9250

Teacher: Marc Lytle

TDPA Mural Synopsis

As minorities in this country we want to reveal the oppression and struggles we face day to day. We want to show the chains of suppression around the experiences we had to go through or still go through. We are young women with different backgrounds and identities, and we want to demonstrate this through our mural.

In this mural we want to express the ways we break those chains of stereotypes and toxic standards into this power, strength, and standing up for ourselves by using our voice against racism and injustice. This mural will show everyone our true selves and who we are proud to be. We will be including someone who is non-binary in our art which pronouns are they/them. They will play a big role in our art showing the chains we break in society. Each link of the chain will have something that represents something that needs to be broken, whether it be toxic traditions that have been passed down through generations, or colonized mentalities that might affect us that we might not even know are affecting us day to day.

Taking into consideration that this semester the way we work on the mural is going to be different, we will split the work in a way that will emphasize each of our different backgrounds and experiences.

Fact 1

LGBTQ young people are 120% more likely to experience homelessness than non-LGBTQ youth. About 7% of youth in the United States are LGBTQ, while 40% of youth experiencing homelessness are LGBTQ.

https://truecolorsunited.org/our-issue/
Fact 3

Black people experience direct traumatic stressors (including being heavily policed or being the victims of physical and verbal attacks), indirect stressors (such as the effects of viewing instances of violence against back people like police shootings of innocent black people), and transmitted stressors (from traumatic stress passed from one generation to the next). Yet statistically, 25% of African Americans seek mental health care, compared to 40% of white people.

https://www.mcleanhospital.org/essential/how-can-we-break-mental-health-barriers-communities-color

TDPA Art

TDPA Poems

Kamille Riley

12th Grade

Dear America, It’s me, your worst nightmare. I’m exposing your secrets. Starting with Red, White, and Blue

Don’t you dare bring that thing towards me It reeks of hypocrisy and lies The colors make me sick.

I still remember what they mean

Red, for courage

No, Red, for the blood of the people of color you’ve slain The blood is all over your hands, You come home a hero, They come home in a casket

White, for innocence

No, White, the color of your privilege More like the privilege to be innocent. I was taught they shot black kids when I was 8 They were taught how to double Dutch at 8. “Our Childhoods were just alike!”

No, I’m #LivingWhileBlack so don’t play innocent Don’t pretend you don’t see the hashtags. Don’t pretend you don't see the bodies

Their lost souls lurk. You better say their names. They’re angry.

Blue, the color of vigilance

No, Blue, the color of their uniforms 10-37, 10-101 I can’t breathe, don't let me die. Hands up, and don’t you dare shoot.

The stars, the stripes Go ahead, hang them up But I dare you to bring that around me

Because that thing you call a flag Is made of the same cloth that you use to silently cover over the bodies you murder in the street

The same cloth you use to wipe the blood of the people of color off your uniform, off your hands. The same cloth you drape over your ugly lies. The same cloth you use to lynch those who expose it.

America,

Land of the free Home of the brave

This cloth doesn’t signify freedom No, it signifies a fantasy No person of color can reach Freedom to be me, But stereotypes are constantly pressed against me What am I supposed to be, I’m not supposed to be stressed about this.

And my “rights” I have to recite to the police like I’m a kid “I know my rights!” I have to convince them. And myself.

I know this will end someday, Someday, it will. I believe it, But is it a sweet lie that I tell myself? Like the Tooth Fairy or Santa?

Dear America, Take your pledge of allegiance. Throw it away. Start over.

Take your flag and try again.

Sincerely, A Tired Black Teen.

TDPA Poems

Erika Guardado Lara

12th Grade

Powerful Words

Through One Phrase

As a little girl, I started to realize that I lived in a country where people viewed me differently. It was different in a way that was hard for me to grasp. I felt like I had the words at the tip of my tongue to fight back, but did not know how. Phrases I grew up hearing were; “Go back to your country,” or “put your hands up, you are a threat!” As a Salvadorena I was told, “All Latinos are Mexicans.”

What was so wrong with being me in the “land of the free?” At a young age, I had these overwhelming feelings bottled up inside my chest searching for a way to let it out. Eventually, as I started to grow up I became aware of my surroundings, which slowly led me to realize how much power words can have through writing. Over the years, my writing has started to develop into something life-changing and personal. Writing became the answer to having my voice heard by others, not feeling powerless or silenced.

Writing began to be about social justice and the experience I have gone through with discrimination and oppression as a Gay Latina woman of color. My writing began to be a way to cope with my feelings and the emotions I had bottled up. Since the 8th grade, I have been in a program called Journey Through Our Heritage which is a Chicano/Africana and multicultural educational program. It has helped me find the importance of words through writing, art, and spoken words. It has shown me a safe space where I could truly express who I am, not only through my words but inside my heart. Never allowing me to doubt who I am or my culture.

I was in a group that earned 1st place in an annual fall spoken word performance. We wanted people to know “Our Story.” This was the very first time where I felt like I had power in my hands to be heard through my voice, not the voices of the news. The news where they talked about how immigrants were not good for this country, that all brown and black folks are poor, all Latinos are criminals and many more stereotypes. The stereotype in my community such as “wetbacks” or “people who steal jobs,” does not define me. Even though in the performance I only had one phrase to say, it sparked the beginning of my journey. As it came to my line I said, “Mi Historia empieza en El Salvador, no soy Mexicana.” Those few words made me realize that I matter.

My brown skin is beautiful and not dangerous. I come from a hard-working immigrant family who strive to provide for their families back at home, who has beaten the odds of the stereotype that has proven people wrong about our community. The discrimination and oppression we face, we use that to be stronger and stand up for ourselves to have our voices heard even louder. My family understands the struggle of being a Latino in the USA, but still, keep pushing forward to have a successful life in the “American dream.” My story begins in El Salvador and it is going to continue that way. My people have survived from colonization and are still breathing. We are not going anywhere, we are here to stay and keep our ancestors alive. I have realized as a minority I can use my experience of being oppressed and lack of representation into this power through my education.

TDPA Poems

Erika Guardado Lara

12th Grade

Reality

Writing is a way I could communicate my feelings without necessarily talking. It's a way where you can really understand the pain I'm trying to form in words. It gives me the power to have my voice heard and you're damn right it's going to be heard today…

What I'm trying to say is.. I guess this is my way of coming out the closet..

I come from a really Catholic and old school Salvadoran and Mexican family and SURPRISE SURPRISE!!! they don't accept “those kinds of people”... as they like to say.

"Check it out! How ugly two men look together in hand "

'Why are you hugging your friend like that? Don't say you are a Lesbian "

"You know if you are gay you go to hell, what if?"

"I will not deny you but I am disappointed that you can like women"

"You have a bad spirit, just pray to God that he takes it away from you"

"That girl is just confusing you for love"

"Why do you dress as a man! Don't tell me you want to be a man! "

"It is only a woman and a man, there is no other sex!"

(“¡Mira eso! Que feo se ve dos hombres juntos en mano ”

‘¿Por qué abrazas a tu amiga de ese modo? No mi digas que eres Lesbiana”

“Tu sabes si eres gay vas al infierno , ¿que si?”

“No te negaré pero estoy decepcionado que puedes gustarte las mujeres”

“Tu tienes un espíritu malo solo rezale a Dios que te lo quita”

“Esa niña solo te está confundiendo de amor”

“Porqué te vistes de hombre! No me digas que quieres hacer hombre!”

“Solo es mujer y hombre, no hay otro sexo!”)

Those are the few phrases I heard while growing up and trust me that's not even half of the shit that happened. Throughout my childhood and into my teenage years I started developing a hate towards myself . I would ask myself..

“Why do I feel attracted to her, I shouldn't be”

“Is it really a phrase? I hope so I don't want to disappointment my family”

“Am I really an abomination of hell”

“God why did you make me like this?”

“If I date boys, maybe it'll go away?”

“Why the hell cant I change this?!”

“Is there something wrong with me, my church says its a “disorder” of nature”

“I won't have my family in my wedding because of who I love”

“I'm going to be disowned and not have the opportunity to see my siblings again for who I love”

Can you relate to the pain I had to go through and still go through. This is not all fun and games were you can joke about your friends saying “I'm tired of men, I'm going to go date a girl its “easier” with girls” just cause a boy didn't want to go on a date with you or saying “i'M sPiCy sTrAiGhT” or “if you give the homie a kiss you're gay” and all those fucken jokes you make about “changing” your sexuality for a day ! IT'S NOT A CHOICE. I didn't choose to be this way. I had multiple times where I just wanted to be straight cause I was sick and tired of all the toxicness and standards this society has for me, that my family has for me. You think I would choose to go through all this pain I have endured over these years? People would really go out there way to say mean comments like “f*g” or a creation of a “abomination”. The church will seem like they accept your sexuality but go out there ways to tell you you can't experience love or marriage because of who I am. My own youth group will sit in a circle and closeted me had to hear all those harmful comments without being able to defend myself. “Oo its because they have a disorder” “Ooo if they came out Ill say I wont support you for going out with the same sex cause my religion doesn't support that, but ill respect you still” “Its weird, maybe she has a crush on me cause you know… she's gay”. When you have some representation in a kids cartoon or any show instead of all people being proud about it, some people will go out there ways saying that the show is harming our youth to being gay or that its against nature. “Why would they go out and do that kind of stuff? Is gay marriage enough? Why are they asking for more”. You never know our pain and how it still affects us till this day. We are just loud about it and will always be loud about it. Enough being quiet. You had your chance to beat us down and torture us, now it's our chance to fight back and be happy to love. My community is strong and will continue to be strong. This is just my side out of the million people trying to voice their pain and say WE WILL LOVE WHO WE WANT TO LOVE. Sit back and be mad about it because we are just moving forward and being who we were meant to be. Love is love. Stop spreading hate.