Raegan Bricks-Davis

“So my black is my BLACK LIVES MATTER mask and my hood,

behind my son I have stood, as I’ll stand by his side

through this world”

— Raegan Bricks-Davis

💜RAEGAN BRICKS-DAVIS 

🧡LOCATION: HICKORY CREEK PRESERVE, MOKENA, ILLINOIS 

💛PHOTO BY: @THEWORLDNEEDSYOURSPARKLE

🖤BLACK ”TEARS” ITEM: BLM MASK/HOOD

💙SKIRT BY @INDIETRUE_CLOTHING

💚FOLLOW @TEARSANDTULLE

🎤IN RAEGAN’S WORDS... 

- I -

An honor it was

to be asked to

join the ranks

of women who’d sat with

black top, tulle bottom, and

gifted to the world,

their vulnerability.

In the set of the sun

on a crisp autumn eve,

I too wore the skirt that’s been

sent ‘round the world.

I looked up at blue sky with jet white,

and a peace and calm came to me,

like a gift from the Heavens.

All too brief was the moment; for

just then, my Loud Rumble Bunny ran

through the shot

like a SHOT from a gun.

“Man. I’mma. . .”

“Here mom!”  

Damn. That kid.

Brings me my babushka.

It’s a PERFECT symbol of “Me,”

Raegan Terese.

Though I do love my hair, of which

I take care, sometimes I just cannot

think when it’s all in my face,

touching my skin, and whatnot.

With that universal Mom Face- teeth

clenched through the smile, eyes wide-

in my mind I confide, Mom life:

it’s like that some times.

‘Post to do a thing alone, yet here comes, near always, child.

Thoughts of myself as a child

come forth as I lie

on the ground, viewing the expanse of

the sky up above.

Slows my breathing. Calms my spirit.

My father and I’d spend hours

outside, watching clouds and naming

shapes they would make.

In the midst of the chaos and

volatility that was oft my adolescence,

Peace & Joy still found us at times.

---

- II -

As symbolic as literal, enter stage right

Loud Rumble Bunny, to take his place

by my side.

The next iteration of adversity & fight

that’s defined much of my 43

laps ‘round the sun, was the

birth of my son six years ago.

He, that is,

we,

almost didn’t live through his

entry into this world.

As his shirt herein details, he is

a LEGEND. In the making, I’ll be damned

if his destiny is derailed by some archaic, outdated bullshit

supremacist system designed to dominate, if not annihilate,

people like my beautiful brown boy, or his black brother,

brother’s brother, and father, were born

of OUR FATHER to be.

So my black is my BLACK LIVES MATTER mask and my hood,

behind my son I have stood, as I’ll stand by his side

through this world. By example we lead, my

husband and me, ever present- watchful eye,

doing our part to change the course

of history. Not for him, not for me,

but for the next generations of black and brown children

who just want to live a life

of peace- who just want to live,

want to grow, not seen as a threat as their bodies

get taller and their age increases in number.

Get “WOKE”. Get BENT. I care not which

for the countless hours we’ve spent

consoling CHILDREN

scared to DEATH, contemplating

the possibility of their own death

at the hands of someone who’ll be protected by a system

not designed to protect THEM. And if what YOU’D say

to our boys when they ask WHY, is to the like,

“Well . . . if you do what you’re supposed to do,

if you do what you’re told,

if you don’t commit crimes, you won’t” . . . you, my fragile friend,

are part of the problem.

Tell that to Ahmaud Arbery or Elijah McClain.

Wait you can’t, ‘cuz their dead, and now we

SAY THEIR NAME.

But we, the “Great” United States, divided as FUCK,

can’t do what is needed to ensure truly

liberty and justice for ALL?  For ALL!!!  Come on y’all.

Spew your bullshit supremacist rhetoric

somewhere else, cuz I’m not feelin’ it.

Ain’t babushkas enough in this whole ever-lovin’ world

to bring me the peace, calm, and balance I seek on

this issue that hits so close to home.

---

- III -

 With apprehension, my son initially stands

‘til I lovingly, comforting, rest my hand

on his shoulder. “I’m with you, right behind you.

I will fight with you, fight for you, if need be, dear one.”

I raise my fist, protesting injustices

that may one day take his life-  for

growing up while black

jogging while blackdriving while black

skipping and humming and living while black.

But the magic in me, the woman OUR FATHER made me to be,

breeds hope eternally.

Now, I may, by this time, appear to be hateful and angry,

and perhaps I can even see why; but much like the SPIRIT

of this most colorful skirt, I am instead filled with

magic; and I’ll tell you why.

See, I dream in color; and I am idealistic; and, I am LOVE.

Not the romantic, head in the clouds type of love; but

the “feeling deep affection for” love.

As an idealist, I cherish noble principles, and thus,

I feel deep affection for equity, peace, and justice for ALL,

whether they wear babushkas, or burkas, natural hair or are bald.

And with my last dying breath, I vow to Love so true,

that even hate walks out of the way.

I will use my white privilege to speak

for those who can’t. Criticism be damned, I’ve got a

vocation to do. And this dear sweet lil man

in the pictures with me, looks up to me to be

the change we wish to see. The change that allows him

and his sister, his brother, and Pooh Pooh to live boldly,

stand tall, and be proud- as they deserve.

Meak and mild mannered, living small, to appear non-threatening is not

at all how God made us- any of US.

As for mine, I will wrap him in magic, revel in the joy of his joy,

rejoice in his growing, and pray-

May the legacy we leave also breed

hope, unity, and equity.

May this last picture here that you see

not be a foreboding of some tragedy to come

years hence.

I will do my best, but cannot always be there.

I pray the world does its part too, and takes better care,

so that my son,

our sons, our daughters, our children,

grow up to not fear growing up; but rather to

KnoW Justice, KnoW Peace. Blessed Be~

---

About Raegan…

Hi! I’m Raegan, a.k.a. Raeg, Rae, Rocky, Honey (thanks to my darling Dev) or (if you’re six, live in my home, and I gave birth to you) Mom. Childhood friend of the founder of Tears & Tulle, I grew up next door to Gina Bell in Chicago Heights. My family and I still live there. Our neighborhood was a special place. Each family was an extension of our own family; we played together, ate meals together, did chores, and even got in trouble ALL TOGETHER!

Perhaps our hometown was what first drew me to work in youth development and community organizing. Ever since I was a child, I have felt a strong pull to social justice, equity, and building communities in which all members can thrive. For over a decade, until personal and family illness forced me to close, I ran a local non-profit organization, CHRYSALIS COMMUNITY CENTER. During that time, we served thousands of families and youth, providing opportunities to serve one another, gain valuable skills, and challenge each other to be our best selves.

In 2014, I gave birth to my son. In 2018, I married my son’s father- the love of my life and the pain in my dupa. LOL. Together we are hard at work breaking generational curses and habits that no longer serve us, or the legacy we wish to leave. Blessed with an amazing stepdaughter and a creative and funny stepson, I take my role as their “Honey” very seriously; I fully appreciate the role I was gifted in their lives, by their moms, by my husband, and by them. Guiding our own to be their best selves, to contribute their unique gifts to the world, and to be the blessing, even in the face of adversity and injustice, we have spent the last several years building a solid foundation for our future.

In the same vein, I am presently creating a business which ties together our vision for our family, my decades of experience in youth development and community organizing, and my entrepreneurial spirit. Throughout her Tears & Tulle journey, I have been inspired by my childhood friend, Mrs. Gina Bell; and as I spread my wings once again and soar, this Radical Sabbatical Momma will make her mark on the world, and be the change I wish to see in it!