Shnayjaah Jeanty
in which charles Darwin actually heals the black community
Honorable Mention
adaptation (noun): in evolutionary theory, adaptation is the biological mechanism by which
organisms adjust to new environments, or to changes in their current environment.
according to this theory,
the black boy’s heart won’t be a guinea pig
tested by a screaming pistol
his ribcage will fuse into a bulletproof vest
if UV rays cannot desecrate his skin cells, neither will lead
his life won’t end as quickly as his news coverage
police brutality will not be a natural cause of death
his windpipe will not be a step stool for the white cop
america will not build an example out of his corpse
according to this theory,
the black boy will have no range of motion in his neck
his body will not allow him to do anything but hold his head high
the diameter of his mouth will widen to cradle both blackness and pride
his eardrums will beat deafening percussion in response to “ghetto” and “thug”
his only racial representation will not be “beyond scared straight” or “60 days in”
he will not think that silver shackles are the brightest his future will ever be
according to this theory,
the black boy’s salivary glands will spill caffeine
his teeth will clatter into alarm clock
for the crowds who are “tired” of his social justice poetry
for those who say that Black Lives Matter is “exhausting”
for the “woke” allies who swear black squares on instagram
will cancel out 400 years of dark
the black boy and his species
will know too much revolution to “rest” in peace
according to this theory,
the black boy will reproduce asexually
his mother will not mistake her womb for a casket
red and blue lights will not blind his father into deadbeat
he will not sell his daddy’s absence in grams and dimebags
the law will not make a slave out of him
this black boy, like bacteria
will multiply
and multiply
and multiply
his people will never be divided again
according to this theory,
the black boy will be genetically predisposed to alzheimer’s
the blackest thing about history is that it is forgotten
and maybe
the black boy deserves to forget too
according to this theory,
the black boy will be white
there is no evolution in an environment
where your skin is treated like a predator
but shot like prey
his mistakes won’t receive a life sentence
he will not be the product of “wrong race, wrong time”
the sidewalk will not be his deathbed
according to this theory,
the black boy lives
and it is only a theory
Shnayjaah Jeanty is a slam poet and a rising senior at Charles W. Flanagan High School in Pembroke Pines, Florida. Though her writing career began in her sophomore year, she has already been commended by Scholastic Art and Writing, the National YoungArts Foundation, and others for various accomplishments in poetry. Shnayjaah writes because poetry is the easiest language to learn, and the most cathartic one to speak. She is a 2021 WordUp! Finalist, and was featured in Carol-Anne McFarlance’s “Sui Generis: Converging Visions of New Identities.” Shnayjaah finds the most power in documenting the most visceral parts of the human condition in her pieces, including identity, trauma, and growth. She has performed all over Broward County, including Darius Daughtry’s Umoja Cypher, where she opened for a broadcasted panel on criminal justice reform. As the president of Writer’s Ink (her school’s poetry club), she has led her slam team both in competition and in community outreach. Shnayjaah’s passion for spoken word has culminated in her recognition as a Louder Than a Bomb Florida 2022 Indy Finalist, a two-time Team Finalist, and a 2021 Team Finals Winner. She was also named South Florida’s 2022 Youth Poet Ambassador. Shnayjaah aspires to make a dent in the world, whether it be through poetry or reforming the justice system.
