Watch Them Jump Poem

I’ve witnessed alchemy, people.

I’ve seen people with nothing,

Take nothing

And turn it into something…

… beautiful.

Disconnected telephone wires

Connecting black youth from all over.

Giving them a calling.

One after the other

That’s a landline.

See them high step like avoiding land mines.

The TICK TICK TICK you hear,

Similar to the starting of a stovetop,

ironically is Black Girl Magic cooking up.

The amazement

Of hitting the pavement

With feet

Making beats that inner-city kids get a lot out of

Just to make a statement.

Just to make a way when they were told there isn’t one.

They made the limit the sky

And I’ve seen black girls fly

Or at the very least levitate.

Let em’ hate

On how they make bad things great.

How ropes went from lifting us by our necks to uplifting our best

YES!

Watch them jump!

Jump like they’re trying to reach the heavens from which they came!

Watch them jump!

Into their confidence and out of their insecurities.

Watch them jump!

Don’t tell me it’s not real.

I’ve seen the spells.

I’ve heard the chants.

I’ve seen them move with a liking to rain dancing.

They reign supreme with no chance of letting you rein them in.

Skipping these ropes

Gives freedom.

Watch them soar!

Watch them float!

Watch them jump…

And you too will know that Black Girl Magic is real.

“ Watch Them Jump” is a collection of photographs that explores and celebrates the connection

between double dutch and black girlhood. This series intends to show how double dutch is a

major part in helping young black girls gain high self-esteem, self-confidence, and most

importantly, self-identification in a world that often denies their existence. These images of

gravity-defying jumps and joy are the only part of the vastly diverse world of black girlhood.