My name is Mwende Katwiwa and I am a poet, a Pan-Africanist and a freedom fighter.
﻿我叫曼达·卡提哇， 我是一个诗人， 一个泛非主义者， 也是一名自由卫士。
I was 23 years old when I first heard about Reproductive Justice. I was working at Women with a Vision, where I learned that Reproductive Justice was defined by Sister Song as: One: A woman's right to decide if and when she will have a baby and the conditions under which she will give birth. Two: A woman's right to decide if she will not have a baby and her options for preventing or ending a pregnancy. And three: A woman's right to parent the children she already has in safe and healthy environments without fear of violence from individuals or the government.
我23岁时， 第一次听说生育公平。 我当时在《卓识女性》工作， 在那里，我了解到 “姐妹之歌”这样定义生育公平： 首先，女性有权决定是否与何时生育， 也有权决定具体的生育条件。 第二，女性有权选择不生育， 有权避孕或终止妊娠。 第三，妇女有权 在安全健康的环境下抚养孩子，
I've always wanted to be a mother.
不用担心
Growing up, I heard all about the joys of motherhood.
来自个人或者政府的暴力事件。 我一直想成为一位母亲。 从小到大， 我听说过几乎所有为母的快乐。
I used to dream of watching my womb weave wonder into this world.
我那时一直梦想， 用自己的子宫孕育奇迹，带到这个世界上。 我知道我那时还很年轻。 但我觉得， 生育这么重大的事， 再早规划也不早。 但如今， 我26岁了。
See, I knew I was young.
我不确定在这个国家， 我是否享有的孕育孩子的权利。 这些年，在养育孩子这方面， 美国教给我的 远比相关书籍要多得多。 它让我知道女性如何分娩，
But I figured,
产下他人眼中的嫌犯。
it couldn't hurt to start planning for something so big, so early.
它让我知道黑人
But now, I'm 26 years old.
被关进监狱的概率
And I don't know if I have what it takes to stomach motherhood in this country.
高于获得大学学位。
See, over the years, America has taught me more about parenting
黑人在美国
than any book on the subject.
多少让“成为母亲”
It has taught me how some women give birth to babies
变得有点复杂。 就好像， 我不知道如何让我的孩子正直成长， 不知道如何让他们好好活着。
and others to suspects.
我教导我的儿子不要偷窃，
It has taught me that this body will birth kin
因为这件事是错误的， 还是因为这可能会陷他于死地？
who are more likely to be held in prison cells
我告诉他
than to hold college degrees.
即使你花了钱买彩虹糖和甜茶，
There is something about being Black in America
还是有人会监视着你，
that has made motherhood seem
像看一个偷窃犯而不是一个小孩；
complicated.
他们会报警， 但又会在警察来之前离开。
Seem like, I don't know what to do to raise my kids right
我希望警察来吗？
and keep them alive.
打911之前， 我的脑袋会蹦出无数个肖恩·贝尔。
Do I tell my son not to steal because it is wrong,
他们可能会像杀了奥斯卡·格兰特那样 杀了我的儿子，
or because they will use it to justify his death?
所以，尽管我们已经废除绞刑，
Do I tell him
但当他们谋杀黑人男孩时， 我仍觉得那是一种私刑，
that even if he pays for his Skittles and sweet tea
私刑后，再把他们的尸体 放在太阳下暴晒四个小时。
there will still be those who will watch him
以儆效尤，
and see a criminal before child;
因为一些事情， 美国的黑人
who will call the police and not wait for them to come.
使成为母亲这件事
Do I even want the police to come?
听起来十分悲惨。
Too many Sean Bells go off in my head when I consider calling 911.
就像是某天早晨我醒来，
I will not take it for Oscar Grant-ed that they will not come and kill my son.
看到上周的悲剧重演在我儿子身上。 听起来就好像我醒过来发现， 我女儿的死甚至都不值得上新闻。
So, we may have gotten rid of the nooses,
你总不能告诉我 只有桑德拉·布兰德这位黑人女性
but I still consider it lynching when they murder Black boys
所经历的暴行才值得我们站起来。
and leave their bodies for four hours in the sun.
那其他正在受难的黑人女同胞呢？
As a historical reminder
我们还能记得住谁的牺牲呢？
that there is something about being Black in America
我们的孩子怎么办？
that has made motherhood sound
他们怎么能适应这样的生活呢？
like mourning.
显而易见，如果你天生是个黑皮肤，
Sound like one morning I could wake up
什么都救不了你。
and see my son as a repeat of last week's story.
所以，黑人在美国这样的事，
Sound like I could wake up and realize
让成为母亲
the death of my daughter wouldn't even be newsworthy.
听起来与我所愿相悖。
So you can't tell me that Sandra Bland is the only Black woman
我写了很多 关于黑人小孩无辜牺牲的诗，
whose violence deserves more than our silence.
总有一天我的孩子可能也遭遇非难。
What about our other dark-skinned daughters in distress
但我不想只做诗歌的母亲。
whose deaths we have yet to remember?
我要的不是诗节这样的儿子，
What about our children
也不是诗句这样的女儿，
whose lives don't fit neatly between the lives of your genders?
更不是脚注这样 不能适应社会的孩子。
See, apparently, nothing is a great protector
不。
if you come out of a body that looks like this.
我不想要
See, there is something about being Black in America
只能活在诗歌里的孩子，
that has made motherhood sound
而他们的生命
like something I'm not sure I look forward to.
比我还短。
I've written too many poems about dead Black children to be naïve
（掌声）
about the fact that there could one day be a poem written about my kids.
我受邀到TED女性大会 做一首诗。 但于我而言， 诗作无关艺术或表演。 它是一种抗议。 昨天， 在排练时，
But I do not want to be a mother who gave birth to poems.
我被告知最近有两三场TED演讲
I do not want a stanza for a son
涉及黑人生存问题。 所以，我可能需要缩短演讲时间， 所以演讲可能仅仅涉及 生育公平这个话题。 但是那首诗和这个演讲 对我而言是不能分割的。 我21岁时——
nor a line for a little girl
（掌声）
nor a footnote for a child who doesn't fit into this world.
我21岁时，特雷文·马丁被谋杀了。 特雷文·马丁， 一个17岁的黑人男孩， 一个黑人小孩， 警示了我， 警示了我们所有人， 这个国家多么轻视黑人的生命。 “黑人的生命事关紧要”的话题标签 变成黑人大众和孩子们 广泛认可的诉求， 即可以生活在安全的环境 和健康的社会团体中， 而不用感到害怕 来自任何个人、州或政府的暴力行为。 几个月后，
No.
当乔治·齐默尔曼被判
I do not want children who will live forever
无需为特雷文·马丁的死亡负责时， 我听到塞丽娜·富尔顿， 特雷文·马丁母亲的讲话。 她的证词对我的影响十分深远， 我开始不停地问
in the pages of poetry,
在美国，身为黑人母亲
yet can't seem to outlive
究竟意味着什么？ 母亲的真正意义是什么， 对于那么多像我一样的黑人而言， 母亲就是默哀的同义词吗？
me.
在不自知的情况下， 我已经开始将 生育公平的框架 和黑人运动联系起来。
(Applause)
当我在《卓识妇女》
I was invited to the TEDWomen conference to perform a poem. But for me, poetry is not about art and performance. It is a form of protest. Yesterday, during rehearsal, I was told that there had been two to three recent TED Talks about Black Lives Matter. That maybe I should cut down my TED Talk so it could "just" be about Reproductive Justice. But that poem and this talk is fundamentally about my inability to separate the two. I was 21 years old --
了解了更多的生育公平， 当我积极参与黑人运动时， 我希望他人能看到并体会 这些相似之处。 我不禁在问： 在这样的时代，谁的工作 会将观念、现实和人民联系起来？
(Applause)
我想将此演讲和那首诗 送给康斯坦茨·马尔科姆。 她是拉玛莉·格雷厄姆的母亲， 拉玛莉·格雷厄姆是另一个黑人孩子， 在先前被谋杀。 有一次吃饭时，康斯坦茨·马尔科姆曾提醒过我， 我当时正在写那首诗， 她说艺术家有职责 去揭露一些 人们想用自满和时间来掩盖的真相。
I was 21 years old when Trayvon Martin was murdered. Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-old Black boy, a Black child, reminded me reminded us how little this nation actually values Black life. The hashtag #BlackLivesMatter became the most recognized call for Black people and our children to live in safe environments and healthy communities without fear from violence from individuals or the state or government.
最近， 托妮·莫里森写了一句话， “面对恐惧时， 艺术家绝不能保持沉默。 我们没有时间自怨自艾， 也没有恐惧的余地。” 昨天彩排时，
Months later, when George Zimmerman was not held responsible for murdering Trayvon Martin, I heard Sybrina Fulton, Trayvon Martin's mother, speak. Her testimony so deeply impacted me that I found myself constantly asking, what would it mean to mother in the United Stated of America in this skin? What does motherhood really mean, when for so many who look like me it is synonymous with mourning? Without realizing it, I had begun to link the Reproductive Justice framework and the Movement for Black Lives. As I learned more about Reproductive Justice at Women With A Vision, and as I continued to be active in the Movement for Black Lives, I found myself wanting others to see and feel these similarities. I found myself asking: Whose job is it in times like this to connect ideas realities and people?
当得知我可能要删减
I want to dedicate this talk and that poem to Constance Malcolm. She is the mother of Ramarley Graham who was another Black child who was murdered before their time. She reminded me once over dinner, as I was struggling to write that poem, that it is the artist's job to unearth stories that people try to bury with shovels of complacency and time.
“黑人的生命事关紧要”这段演讲时， 我察觉到自己害怕了好一会儿。 害怕我们的故事再一次被否定， 尤其是在这样大的舞台上。 但我想起刚刚我所说的话。 “面对恐惧时， 艺术家绝不能选择沉默。 我们没有时间自怨自艾。
Recently, Toni Morrison wrote, "In times of dread, artists must never choose to remain silent. There is no time for self-pity, no room for fear." Yesterday, during rehearsal, when I was told that I should "maybe cut the Black Lives Matter portion from my talk," I found myself fearful for a moment. Fearful that again our stories were being denied the very stages they deserve to be told on. And then I remembered the words I had just spoken. "In times of dread, artists must never choose to remain silent. There is no time for self-pity.
（掌声）
(Applause)
我们没有时间自怨自艾。 也没有恐惧的余地。” 我已经做了决定。 永不停息。
There is no time for self-pity. And no room for fear." And I have made my choice. And I am always choosing.
谢谢大家。
Thank you.
（掌声）