Letter From The Editor
Guest Editor Faith Lindsey
This month’s guest editor is Faith Lindsey. Faith (she/her) is a sex educator, art enthusiast and creative, and lover of everything black... Black people, black clothes, Black art and artists, Black music; you name it, she loves it! She is a wanderer and is currently on an adventure discovering what brings her the most pleasure and joy in this lifetime. She is attending Temple University to study art history and she can't wait to find out what the universe has in store for her!
Under 25. Lol. What a way to end an era, right?? We are Generation Z: the babies who are actually no longer babies anymore. We get vulnerable, we call out, and cancel, and call up. We dream big, big dreams and small dreams too. We dream of solace, and peace, and escape. We honor those who laid the groundwork for us to access that privilege to dream, but if they try us – no doubt about it – we have no problem putting our elders in check. We believe respect is earned, it isn’t a given. We demand agency. We’re loud and involved.
We mess up a lot – but we try.
We try really hard.
We’re desensitized, yet really sensitive about our shit. We work hard when we know our efforts are valued (emphasis on needing to feel valued). We’re critical of everything and everyone, but we’re most critical of ourselves. We’re never satisfied. Pessimistic. We’re mentally fucked, traumatized... We’re creative. Our talent is so great that this world has trouble making sense of it – so great that society tries its best to snuff out our fervent energy every chance that it gets, but we’re fighters. Fighters who are honestly tired of fighting. We’re tired of fighting wars that we never started. We’re tired of fighting systems that weren’t built for us in the first place. We’re tired of being ignored, misunderstood, and our power being underestimated – but we continue to show up. We show up for ourselves through our writing, activism, and our art, like the people featured in this last issue of TAUNT.
In this Under 25 issue, there are Black, queer, femme, and gender non-conforming folks who share parts of themselves and the communities they value that are tender yet analytical of the people, spaces, and sytems that have made them into who they are today. The stories found here are deeply personal stories of trauma, rage, and rebellion. Despite this, they have a sense of hope, along with urgent calls to move forward towards a better tomorrow – and a certainty that we can make it happen.
Toni Morrison said, “I know the world is bruised and bleeding, and though it is important to not ignore its pain, it is also critical to not succumb to its malevolence.” So it is our job, Gen Z, to hold each other up in love and protect each other from the blows of the many nuanced and oppressive systems that try to govern our lives.
We got this.
<3 Faith
Table of Contents
Cover art by Shamia Gaither
Born in 1996 in Louisville, KY, Shamia attended high school and continued her art education at Kentucky College of Design. As an undergraduate, she participated in Yale Norfolk residency in 2017. In 2018 after graduating, she participated in another residency at PAFA. After this residency she knew she wanted to continue learning about her process. Shamia currently attends grad school at Mason Gross at Rutgers University online. She primarily works with collage, chalk pastel, and oil pastel to create drawings that explore fears stemming from generations of censorship and the irrational.
Miracle-Gro:
A Series of Self
Mēsa Serikali
Photos from a lifetime ago, and a light year away. This is a documentation of the transition of grief. Planting softness in self and growing to love. Trimming away the dead and letting go. Propagating joy and receiving.
Placebo
Dez Levier
As I get older, I have this recurring epiphany that the world is not designed for me. As a writer, one of the biggest pieces of advice I’ve gotten over and over again is to let myself be honest in my work; it’s supposed to be powerful to lay myself bare and let my readers see all of the pain and glory stitched into a piece. One of the largest consistent points of praise I receive is about the amount of honesty and ache in my work. But as a Black writer (especially being queer / trans / femme) this feels counterintuitive -- what would be brave for a white author, here, often feels like selling out to me, no matter how intrinsic my motivation is.
Open Letter:
PUNKS
THAT R*PE
Drew Webb
Here in Louisville, the punk scene is haunted by ghosts of itself. There is a fundamentally destructive pattern of ass*ult occurring between Gen Z people in this city. This culture of lingering whispers and repeat offenders has not only alienated other scenes in other places, but alternative people locally, as well. I know it has alienated me personally from the scene. It was in my disaffection that I struggled to find the true history and truths of punk. I often wondered if the risks did not outweigh potential rewards, for my own personal life, at least. Sitting down to tell this story, the thought that r*pe is happening everywhere, all over the world, kept coming up. Some people I spoke to felt it was impossible to strive for a safe space in a world that is simply unsafe.
A Work of Art
Artwork by Shamia Gaither, Sirene Wata and Hannah DeWitt
NOW AND THEN
MY GRANDFATHER AND ME A Portrait of
Two Different Generations
Cris Eli Blak
Almost immediately when the protests and unrest began in the streets of the city I was born in, I began thinking back; back further than I could even remember, back before I was even conceived. I began thinking of a man named Charles; a quiet, wise, humorous old man. At first glance Charles might not appear to be any different than any other senior citizen enjoying his retirement: waking up early, fixing coffee and reading the newspaper; taking weekly trips to the post office and grocery store, watching cable news and sports, mowing the lawn, barbequing, reading crime novels, watching his favorite weekly primetime television shows. For anyone who has ever known him, though, it is abundantly clear he’s much more than a normal old man.
Young Authors Greenhouse Publication Preview
We Will Write Through This: A Year of Young Voices 2020-2021
Thank You To Our Friends 🖤
Spencer Jenkins
Spencer graciously welcomed TAUNT under his umbrella at Queer Kentucky to help us launch. This is a partnership, a friendship, and a momentum that cannot be stopped. Please visit and support Queer Kentucky’s fight for LGBTQ+ visibility in the Bluegrass State.
David Welker
David Welker designed our TAUNT logo and the STATUS QUO social media teasers. He is also designing our upcoming merch (Crop tops are coming, y’all!).
Jon Fleischaker & Michael Abate
Jon and Michael were unbelievably generous with their time and encouraging of TAUNT’s mission to toy with what Louisville’s media scene should look like.
Josh Moss
Thank you to Joss Moss for his mentorship and early enthusiasm for TAUNT. TAUNT appreciate’s Louisville Magazine’s collaborative spirit in helping spread the word about the new kid on the scene.
Deedra Tate
Deedra Tate and Don Meredith Co. printed our big ol’ thank you postcards. And they did the things you want most out of a printer – For the job to be fast and done right. If you’re trying to get a handwritten thank you in the mail, donate to TAUNT.
Our 300+ Donors
Folks from all over the country tossed cash TAUNT’s way during a global pandemic because they believed in Minda and the believed Louisville is a city worthy of the nation’s concern. Let’s get heard.