We’ve shouted the slogans, posted the thought-provoking quotes, and made donations, but now is when the real work begins. 


So you&rsquo;ve attended your first protest, you&rsquo;ve posted your first Instagram image and used the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag &ndash; now what? In our &#39;Now What? Life Post Protest&#39; series, L&#39;Officiel seeks insight from Black voices in our community on how to ensure that our outrage over racial injustice translates into radical change in our country and our everyday lives.

On Tuesday, June 2nd, I woke up to a sea of black boxes on my <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/pop%20culture/positive-vibes-instagram-accounts-follow-fashion" target="_blank">Instagram</a> feed as friends and colleagues sought to protest the murders of George Floyd,&nbsp;Breonna Taylor and countless others who have died at the hands of police brutality. For some <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/black-lives-matter-fashion-beauty-brand-donations" target="_blank">brands</a> and friends, it was their first time posting about racial injustice, but&nbsp;I couldn&rsquo;t help but feel a wave of pessimism. Will this country really change? Will this moment of emotional <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/politics-culture/fashion-beauty-brands-coronavirus-donations-aid" target="_blank">response</a>&nbsp;truly lead to changes in the way this country treats Black people? How can I ensure that and where do I begin?

At L&#39;Officiel USA, we are starting this change with dedicating&nbsp;an ongoing series to conversations with Black experts&nbsp;in&nbsp;creative fields. These individuals&nbsp;are not only boldly innovative, but they also use&nbsp;their positions as an every day protest.&nbsp;For each of these creatives, activism is&nbsp;not an activity they commit to in their spare time.&nbsp;In the coming&nbsp;weeks, we&#39;ll learn how each of these individuals molded their careers around advocating for Black voices, and we&#39;ll learn how we, too, can follow their lead. Touching&nbsp;on topics such as working in the&nbsp;education, fashion, wellness, and art industries &ndash; spaces where Black creatives are largely underrepresented &ndash; these contributors will share&nbsp;their experiences as trailblazers and provide insight&nbsp;into living an activist&nbsp;lifestyle. Acknowledging that&nbsp;these creatives are graciously taking&nbsp;the time to be a resource to us and our readers, these articles are gateways to further conversation, starting points for radical change, and most importantly, answers to the ubiquitous question,&nbsp;now what?

Ackowledging inconvenient truths is the start of this country&#39;s&nbsp;journey to true transformation. We&#39;ll have to start at the foundation&nbsp;upon which this country is built. The largest brick&nbsp;in the foundation of any country&nbsp;is education. While many have called for a complete overhaul of&nbsp;the flawed education system in the United States, one of the first catalysts for&nbsp;change on the front lines of education are&nbsp;Black educators.

In seeking out an expert in this field,&nbsp;the first person who came to mind was my husband <a href="https://www.instagram.com/kylenorville/?hl=en">Kyle Norville</a>. A Black educator who graduated with a minor in African American studies, he is a slam poetry performer who often writes on the subjects of police brutality. As a Black man in America, Kyle has faced and lived the truth of this country his whole life. He now bears the weight of&nbsp;teaching the rich history of Black America to his high school English students.&nbsp;I had the honor of asking Kyle about his experience as a Black educator and artist, and he also shared his book suggestions&nbsp;for educating America with Black literature. For those who have Instagrammed, who have attended their first protest, and who are looking for their next step, his essential reading list is the right&nbsp;place to start.

Ryan Norville: You minored in African American studies, and incorporate&nbsp;a heavy focus on Black literature in your curriculum to your High School English students. What inspired your dedication to the stories and works of Black authors?

Kyle Norville: I would say my own personal high school experience is what influenced me. As far as I know, until I got to college, we did not delve deep into the African-American (or African for that matter) experience or diaspora. I took a course on Africa at Kingsborough Community College by Dr. Candice Rowser. She challenged us every class, her passion was irrefutable and the lessons in that class still stir my spirit &ndash;&nbsp;and I took that class seven years ago! I promised myself that my students will go into college and/or life with the knowledge that we are more than athletes and rappers.&nbsp;We are a broad spectrum of personalities and influences, and sometimes, seeing that you can be more, reading about multiple&nbsp;experiences from other people of color&nbsp;is the first step to becoming that.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

RN: Why do you think these stories go untold? Why do you feel many Americans lack education&nbsp;on Black history and African American literature?

KN: It&rsquo;s not an aspect of American culture that is widely spoken about. We know all about Mark Twain, Ernest Hemingway and Shakespeare. There is some progress being done, do not misunderstand me; but I believe there is no true push for educators to expand our knowledge on other authors of various genders and backgrounds. We prefer the status quo or the classics (upon which we still have to look at the lens in which we have determined these &ldquo;classic&rdquo; authors) instead of challenging ourselves to learn more about the students in our classrooms and the backgrounds that accompany them. I guarantee you if African American, Latino and Asian authors and history were more widespread&nbsp;in classrooms across the country, a lot of biases would be addressed, possibly creating change.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

RN: What challenges or opposition have you faced in customizing the standard New York City teaching curriculum to include Black literature?

KN: I am happy to say that I have not faced any true challenges from the Department Of Education&nbsp;administration. The challenge is really selecting which authors to focus on and educating myself on the many out there to expose to students. My group of students change&nbsp;every year, so I need to be as updated as possible, meaning I have to read as much as possible (a task I am still trying to find time to dedicate to). I definitely have a long way to go, in implementing more culturally-relevant pedagogy in my classroom, but I embrace all aspects of change and challenge into how to allow my students to have a voice.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

RN: Past your formal studies, how do you continue your education on Black artists and Black history on your own?

KN: I watch a lot of videos of poetry performances as I still write my own pieces and sometimes perform. Oftentimes, I find my inspiration in the workings, performances and writing of people I personally know or look up to such as Steven Willis, Joel Francois, Mahogany Browne, Dominique Christina, Joekenneth&nbsp;and more. I listen to artists that still push the agenda of change and opportunity such as Lupe Fiasco, Christian Scott, Black Thought and most recently Noname. I also meet up with fellow teachers and we have a small monthly book club going on where we motivate and inspire each other. I spend time with my students in after school or weekend activities to build camaraderie and play sports (where I am often humbled) to build a rapport. These instances and interactions constantly force me to change my mindset.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

RN: What Black creators are inspiring you right now?

KN: I find my inspiration in those who are doing it right now. I am inspired by the 100-Year Plan devised by Ouigi Theodore of Brooklyn Circus, I am inspired to this day by the creators of Street Etiquette:&nbsp;Joshua Kissi and Travis Gumbs. I find multiple opportunities to create conversations in the classroom from the works of artists who I personally know and still communicate with such as Te&rsquo;von, Eno Abasi, and The Strivers Row Poetry Collective. I find absolute joy in the success of Kerby Jean-Raymond of <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/rising-designers-fashion-week-activists-outsiders-2019" target="_blank">Pyer Moss</a>&nbsp;and the vision behind <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/dapper-dan-digital-issue-2019" target="_blank">Dapper Studios</a>, The Creative Collective NYC and so many more I can wax poetic about.&nbsp;

KyleNorville_StepsPostProtest_2.jpg

KyleNorville_StepsPostProtest.jpg

RN: How do you believe we can transform the current energy of the country into tangible, permanent change?

KN: This is a difficult question to answer. Fundamentally, every single group that has been started by African-Americans (specifically the Black Panther Party, Black Wall Street, Nation of Islam and the Black Nationalist Movement to name a few) that has sought to&nbsp;bring about&nbsp;change and identity to people who needed it the most has been systematically broken down, immoralized and demonized. The&nbsp;leaders of those groups were oftentimes murdered or silenced and the historically oppressive systems in place continue to remain in power.

I do not know what permanent change would look like. Time and time again, we have witnessed that the current government is not designed with any People of Color in mind. We are also divided,&nbsp;not only according to race but according to class and according to gender. That right there, is what needs to change. At the risk of sounding negative, no change will come about if the our current oppressive leaders&nbsp;remain in power.&nbsp;That can be maintaining&nbsp;a position&nbsp;as a police officer or teacher to being in our House of Representatives&nbsp;or any other political positions. We must vote for the leaders we need. Our current leadership is&nbsp;not willing to provoke change, why would they? The historical system of racial bias, sexism and classism works in their favor. We would need to flush out these policies and those in political power that do not have our best interest in mind.&nbsp;It will not happen overnight. I might not even be around to see this change. Yet my scariest&nbsp;thoughts are&nbsp;will I not see them due to a natural death, &ndash; or a death due to one of the above-named divisions?

&nbsp;

RN: You are expecting your first child this year, this is loaded - but how do you plan to navigate educating them on injustice, and what conversations are you preparing to have with them?

KN: Identity is an issue I&rsquo;ve encountered and still encounter when I look at my reflection in the mirror. What does it mean to be me? What is my purpose on earth? Why was I created? Why am I the skin tone that I am?&nbsp;It has taken&nbsp;over a decade for me to even begin to peel away at those answers. I plan to be sharing the benefits of these answers with my child as much as I can. Let them know they are loved, they are Black, and to look at all of the beauty that is still apparent, despite the trauma. I cannot protect my child forever, but I can prepare them for what&rsquo;s to come. I&nbsp;want them to embrace who they are fiercely with full knowledge of what comes with it.&nbsp;&nbsp;

&nbsp;

RN: You performed an award-winning group poem &ldquo;<a href="https://youtu.be/mQcy17D8A0I" target="_blank">Anatomy of A Man</a>&rdquo; at the College University Poetry Slam Invitational in 2014 which speaks on the killing of Black men by police. How does it feel to see that is still painfully relevant six years later?

KN: That experience was and still is very surreal. We did not know the power of the performance, the power of the words written nor the fact that six years later, nothing would change. It is haunting to think about what if any of the unfortunate lives lost at the hands of law enforcement, might have even watched the poem? We were merely college students writing a poem about the experiences that we have noticed. These experiences are still alive. It is legal and acceptable for a Police Officer to kill an unarmed black man or woman.&nbsp;Above that, there are people who will discount this truth. There is so much misinformation out there that it&rsquo;s hard to fathom. This poem wasn&rsquo;t about winning the competition. I honestly don&rsquo;t remember who won that CUPSI. I remember the poems and the pain and trauma that was shared on that stage. That will never leave me.

&nbsp;

Kyle Norville shares his favorite literature by Black authors that impactfully&nbsp;tell the stories of Black history, artistry and individual journeys. Focusing on the unique nature and wide gamut of the Black experience, these books represent the stories of Black women, Afro-Caribbean Americans, Black Fathers and more.

&quot;This is the book that I have placed down multiple times and have had to deeply reflect on my view of the world. I grappled with the realities&nbsp;that were exposed to me and now I challenge my own students to challenge&nbsp;their view of the world. The book is essentially an open letter from the author to his son. One that makes me think about what I would want to leave my child as they navigate through this world.&quot;

<a href="http://https://ta-nehisicoates.com/books/between-the-world-and-me/" target="_blank">Between The World &amp; Me</a>&nbsp;by Ta-Nehisi Coates

&nbsp;

Between the World and Me

&quot;The story of Malcolm Little is ultimately devastating once you learn about how he was raised and the man he was in the process of becoming before his life was cut short. We have avenues named after him, images that immortalize him, but how do we remember him and do we really know his story? I now know&nbsp;him as a man who was for change, and for his people. But also a man who was fiercely devoted to a world where POC&rsquo;s were allowed to live without consequence.&quot;

<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/92057.The_Autobiography_of_Malcolm_X" target="_blank">The Auto-Biography of Malcolm X</a> - as told to Alex Haley&nbsp;

The Auto-Biography of Malcolm X

&quot;While I first picked this book up because the cover art enticed me, once I read the first line I was off to the cash register. Hanif is an amazing poet, and an absolute magician with vocabulary throughout this book, which is a series of essays. While reading this book I felt&nbsp;as if I were right there with him, going through each experience, watching and processing. It is inviting, and it causes you to really and truly think about childhood, adulthood and most importantly, our livelihood.&quot;&nbsp;

<a href="http://http://www.abdurraqib.com/book" target="_blank">They Can&rsquo;t Kill Us Until They Kill Us</a>,&nbsp;by Hanif Abdurraqib&nbsp;

They Can't Kill Us  Until They Kill Us

&quot;One of the most profound works I have come across, I will never forget this book.&nbsp;It narrarates experiences and realities of many Haitian-born children and adults. I was raised in Flatbush, a cornucopia of Carribbean culture, beauty and most importantly, strength. Reading this book brought me back to my childhood and admiring my Haitian friends for their effortless style, intellect and kindness to me &ndash; I&nbsp;even wanted to be Haitian!&nbsp;This is a story about resilience and a love that revitalizes anyone who reads it.&quot;

<a href="http://https://edwidgedanticat.com/books/brother-im-dying" target="_blank">Brother I&rsquo;m Dying</a>, by Edwidge Danticat

Brother I'm Dying

&quot;This is one of the books that instilled in me the knowledge of the resilience of Black women. I learned of their enigmatic&nbsp;strength, and how that strength&nbsp;manifests into having to deal with the weight of so much pain and trauma.&nbsp;I love how the author flipped societal gender&nbsp;norms and empowered the main characters of this book &ndash; who are women. Without giving away the plot, this book holds another massive metaphor that is still alive to this day. I implore you to read to see what I mean.&quot;&nbsp;

<a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/117647/beloved-by-toni-morrison/" target="_blank">Beloved</a>&nbsp;by Toni Morrison&nbsp;

Beloved

&quot;This book single handedly changed the way I looked at writing and the descriptive language of my poetry. I can still see the colors mentioned with vivid clarity and nostalgia. It was and still is a collection of poems and short stories that have lasted very long in my mental library and process. I read this book just to pass a college course, but It has now become a part of my library and I hope to pass on the style and attention to detail to my students.&quot;&nbsp;

<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/765172.Cane" target="_blank">Cane</a> by Jean Toomer&nbsp;

Cane

&quot;I remember this book very well, another one I had to put down, another one I had to read from the beginning. There is an extended Metaphor throughout this book, that is polarizing. This is not an H.G Wells novel, this is a novel that Black people will be very familiar with, it is a journey from South to North to self-realization and many mini caricatures of some well known figures and even corporations. It is a wild ride, but the title of the book hangs over your head like a mistletoe, waiting for you to acknowledge the harsh truth about identity.&quot;

<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16981.Invisible_Man" target="_blank">Invisible Man</a>&nbsp;by Ralph Ellison

Now What? Life Post-Protest: Reeducating America with Black Literature

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