Author: Joyce M. Rose-Harris

Joyce M. Rose-Harris is an activist, blogger, video podcaster, and published poet. She has worked in the political and nonprofit sectors since 2017. Joyce launched PaisleyPerspective blog in 2011 to be a positive and insightful voice in the universe. She has poetry published in periodicals and anthologies. Joyce currently serves on the Board of The Watering Hole, which is dedicated to the growth of poets of color; and a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. In her spare time she enjoys cheering for her hometown Chicago sports teams especially Da Bears as well as the University of South Carolina Women’s Basketball team.

My Thoughts on the Zimmerman Verdict

~~~ Since the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman on February 26, 2012 there have been many lives of African American young men taken to soon. We see this in Chicago, IL alone where in 2012 where a significant number of the 500 homicides impacted them. However, I like so many across the […]

My Thoughts on Supreme Court Ruling, Shelby v. Holder

~~~ This is being written from the gut, it may be revised on a later date but today it is how I feel. Tuesday, June 25, 2013 on what would have been my maternal grandmother’s 93rd birthday, I was saddened by the ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court. The highest court of the land upheld […]

My Granddaddy Hamilton

~~~ Today is the day when we celebrate father’s in the United States. I’ve highlighted my dad in past Father’s Day inspired post but today I am paying homage specifically to my granddaddy Hamilton. Due to various reasons, which I choose not to discuss today I had four grandfathers but granddaddy Hamilton was at the […]

For Nelson Mandela

~~~ As a high school student, I was made aware of the conditions in South Africa upon reading “All Things Fall Apart” written by Chinua Achebe’s. It was the first time I heard the word apartheid but it would be a few years later before I truly understood what apartheid meant. While attending the University […]

Consequences

~~~ A recent local news story lead me to think about the consequences of our decisions, both good and bad. There was a tragic incident where a male teenager was arrested for felony DUI after his brother died in a car crash. I later learned from a person who knows the family well that the […]

Chocolate Diversity

~~~ While attending the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), I learned that my race didn’t dictate my grades. Hard work along with good professors (shout out to Professor Ein, now a Dept. Head) helped determine this fact. I earned a solid ‘A’ in one of the toughest mathematics courses at UIC, differential equations. Diffy […]

Remembering Louise’s Last Days

~~~ My grandmother stood approximately six feet tall prior to aging taking its toll on her body. When I was a child she was a little intimidating and a very no nonsense person. She showed loved in straight-forward ways just like her personality. Her favorite way of showing she cared was through feeding you. My […]

Hair: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

~~~ People with bone straight hair want wavy or curly hair. People with curly or wavy hair want bone straight hair. Recently, I cut off my dreadlocs. There are other known ways to remove dreads or locs as sometimes called but I decided to cut mine. I let them grow out a little allowing for […]

In Memory of Mom

~~~ Mother’s Day weekend is tough for me. When my mom was living, I would enjoy showering her with gifts this weekend. However, I didn’t wait until Mother’s Day to tell her I loved her or to treat her to dinner. Each month I would do something nice or maybe deposit a little surprise in […]

From Whence We Come

~~~ I am the child of a mother who became pregnant at the age of 20. My father a few years older than my mother, on his own free will asked her to marry him. I never thought to ask my now deceased parents if they would have gotten married without the pregnancy. I grew […]