Out of Bounds in an Inbound World
A Book of Poetry
by
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WHAT IF, … What if … I am a “person of color” But not, a black American Would a foreign lilt of tongue And enunciation of words Confound racial identity of me In your mind … Would I be elevated to a position more favorable than a black American? Or, would my presence remind you of what could have been? That is … What if, … black Americans had been allowed to remain in the country of their forebears? What if, … black Americans had been allowed to speak a tongue sweet to their ears? What if, … black Americans had been allowed to retain and treasure traditions of a land held dear? What if, … instead of blacks being captured and enslaved, … it were you? What if, … I am a “person of color” And, I am a black American Am I now seen in a different light Because of … what if?
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About the Book
What a wonderful resource for a teacher of the gifted or any teacher who enjoys poetry. - P.W. Y.B. Taylor feels she best expresses herself in written words. History, personal challenges and experiences, as well as observations and stories told to her by older family members and friends, are reflected in her writing. “Life without purpose is not living. Living without purpose is not meaningful. My purpose in life is to live meaningfully!” Y.B. Taylor
About the Author
Y.B. TAYLOR was born in 1954, the same year as the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision - Brown v. the Board of Education. Her early and formative years included experiences of segregation and bigotry, some remembered and others told to her when she was old enough to understand. She has encountered and broken color barriers. In 1966, Y.B. Taylor was one of six African American students that integrated Richmond Public School’s Albert H. Hill Junior High. Having attended a segregated elementary school, Albert Hill was Taylor’s first experience with whites on a daily basis. There were harrowing experiences as well as life lessons learned. As a result of legislated busing, her last two years of high school were spent in the newly annexed area of Richmond, formerly Chesterfield County. At Huguenot High, she made history as the school’s first African American varsity cheerleader (Thank you, mom!), first African American homecoming queen, and first African American to write a regular column, “Yonnie Bee’s Bag,” for the student-run newspaper. In 1972, she was one of two first-time African American contestants in the Miss Chesterfield Beauty Pageant. Both made it to the finals. In 1976, Y.B. Taylor received her B.A. in Afro American Studies from the University of Virginia, 19-years after Walter N. Ridley became the university’s first African American to earn a degree and 4-years after undergraduate admissions was fully open to women. For a period of eleven-years, she found herself immersed in corporate America, and often in the vernacular of the black community, the “only fly in the ointment.” Y.B. Taylor now resides in Henrico, Virginia, with her husband; they are proud parents to two adult daughters.