yet the serpent refused to die, 2024

Yet the Serpent Refused to Die recontextualizes the story of Archangel Michael slaying the serpent by equating it to the killing and violence that is enacted on Black queer people in the name of a god. Oftentimes, in organized religion, there is a decentering of all “others” from a narrative or tale until their existence proves to be useful. Queer people of color’s existence has been used as nothing but a tool to push a righteous narrative, and because of that, our likeness has been misconstrued to be the antithesis of all morality and goodness, which is then used to justify targeted violence against us.

Our agency in our own stories has been stolen from us. 

Our agency in our own lives has been stolen from us.

I refuse to let our agency get snatched from our own hands again. 

The serpent was killed for its scales- for its reputation- but the name of its assailant lives on in glory. Blessed be to those who are slain in the name of any. Man heard word from above to end that who slither, yet the Serpent refused to die.