When My Brother Fell

• Length: 2:39
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• Author: dr3dnaught

Tags: 2008  Beam  black  Broth  Coming  Day  Essex  gay  Hemphill  Joseph  LGBT  My  National  Out  When 

I was inspired to share the poem 'When My Brother Fell' for National Coming Out Day 2008. It was done by Essex Hemphill, a black gay poet. Hemphill wrote this poem for Joseph Beam, a black gay rights activist who died of AIDS when in the process of writing an anthology known today as "brother to brother," which Hemphill completed and published. Both men were revolutionaries and fought for the visibility and rights of black LGBT people. This poem gives me strength and inspiration when I think about sharing my truth with others. When my brothers (those who came before me) fall, I must pick up their weapons and continue the fight they cannot. When My Brother Fell (For Joseph Beam) When my brother fell I picked up his weapons and never once questioned whether I could carry the weight and grief, the responsibility he shouldered. I never questioned whether I could aim or be as precise as he. I only knew he had fallen, and the passing ceremonies marking his death did not stop the war. Standing at the front lines flanked by able brothers who miss his eloquent courage, his insistent voice urging us to rebel, urging us to not fear embracing for more than sex, for more than kisses and notches in our belts. Our loss is greater than all the space we fill with prayers and praise. He burned out his pure life force to bring us dignity, to bring us a chance to love ourselves with commitment. He knew the simple spilling of seed would not be enough to bind us. It is difficult to stop ...