Read Alice Walker’s Powerful Poem Inspired by Jesse Williams’ BET Speech

One of our most wondrous and prolific living authors and activists, Alice Walker, wrote a poem inspired by actor Jesse Williams’ brilliant BET Humanitarian Award acceptance speech.

The poem, published on Walker’s website the day after the awards aired, gives “three deep bows to a beautiful son” and hilariously critiques the fact that the video, courtesy of BET, begins with a McDonald’s ad. Walker wrote that the commercial “interrupted a poem I wanted to write about fear of blackness in white culture.”

Titled “Here It Is,” the poem gives props to Williams’ parents, his gorgeous features and to blackness itself, which Walker writes is “like the dark matter between stars and galaxies in the Universe.”

Read the entire poem:

2016 by Alice Walker

Here it isthe beauty that scares you-so you believe-to death.For he is certainly gorgeousand he is certainly where whitenessto your disbeliefhas not wandered offto die.No. It is there, tawny skin, gray eyes,a Malcolm-esque jaw. His loyal parentsmay Goddess bless themsitting proud and happy and no doubtamazedat what they have done.For he is black too. And obviouslywith a soulmade of everything.Try to think bigger than you ever haveor had courage enough to do:that blackness is not where whitenesswanders off to die: but that it islike the dark matterbetween stars and galaxies inthe Universethat ultimatelyholds it alltogether.-AW

Watch the speech that inspired Walker: