The Olive Branch
Anthony Ray Anthony Ray

The Olive Branch

There’s an unspoken history we have with the card game Spades. Its foundation dates back to the pastime practices of enslaved Americans, yet rumors of its birth point towards the Great Migration, with lore of Pullman Porters traveling across the Mason-Dixon Line. On the surface, it’s a simple game of card suits and numerical values, with the namesake Spades at the top of the pecking order…

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Song Moments💫
Anthony Ray Anthony Ray

Song Moments💫

I live for specific moments in songs. Marvin’s “brother, brother” on What’s Going On. The stacked vocals on the back half of Michael’s Man in the Mirror. Prince’s guitar solo on Purple Rain. The funked-out beat switch on Sade’s Cherish the Day. Deep in the music is where you can find the purest me, occupied by convergent song elements that bring you far, far away, or deeper within.

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The Weakest Link
Anthony Ray Anthony Ray

The Weakest Link

A generational hurt that started long before you were a twinkle in someone’s eye and passed down like a photo album or bad genetics. Some dark animus spawned under the regime of slavery that refused to die, and has become more resistant with each passing year.

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War On Many Fronts
Anthony Ray Anthony Ray

War On Many Fronts

There’s smoke everywhere. Fire has been burning for days. Fire has been burning for generations. Its stench infiltrates every opening — windows, vents, nostrils. Since 1965, since 1865, since 1776, since 1619, since the first trans-Atlantic wave of enslavement and genocide washed over sacred native lands. Since… since… since…

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Nobody’s Savior
Anthony Ray Anthony Ray

Nobody’s Savior

Tell someone who has your love all the things you see. The person you choose to love is a mirror, reflecting the spectrum of things you value.

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The Stories We Tell
Anthony Ray Anthony Ray

The Stories We Tell

I form the story that was always meant to be written. Blackness is where it begins, origin of the original narrative. Blackness is where it shall end, when the universe finally consumes its light. A tale of crossed stars that lived, and lived after.

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