For Tyre Nichols

January 2023

by, Pia Hargrove, LMSW

As I rest beneath the willow, enveloping and verdant,

drops of moisture stain my skin, as she weeps.

Gotas del cielo…

from the ancestors,

whose cries resound as trumpets embracing our carob angel,

who ascended too soon.

Body beaten and slain, as voice billowed and spirit sang,

“I’ll always love my mama,

she brought me in this world…”

and with the pain sustained,

in the world mama remains-

while womb wounds like labor,

leave her listless.

My womb wails for our boys.

29 years of tears,

collected in harrowed hands,

cupped beneath the weeping willow.

Ancestral angel, Tyre

A Rock, A Father,

among the young boys, brothers, sons, spouses…

Council of astral strength.

Brilliance.

Amid this pain I persevere,

with the promise that,

you will turn my wailing into dancing and

remove my sackcloth and clothe me with joy.

Indeed, joy comes in the morning.

Every day, the sun rises, and I see its orange rays,

and feel its radiant warmth.

I AM RESTORED.

Generation X-pectant

with experience, graced with peace,

and in collective journey toward healing.

As we start this year, 2023,

I express gratitude for each breath feathered through my chest.

Bosom blessed to comfort children,

bright with imagination and creativity.

Cradling little legacies to dream, and do,

with power and impact,

and transcend the insidious hate of SELF,

that those who seek to project, embody.

Our ancestors are abundant and guiding forces,

inspiring our vigilance and victory.

We will H.E.A.L.

Hear History

Emote

Acknowledge

and L-O-V-E, LOVE.

Love, love...

God of the Universe and

the love the God within ME and

love the God within YOU

SELF-LOVE-GOD-LOVE

Selah

Pia Jeannette Hargrove
For Tyre, January 2023

ABOUT Pia Hargrove, LMSW

Activist | Speaker | Educator

Pia Raymond Hargrove earned a B.A. in psychology from Boston University and an MSW from New York University as an honors graduate, Lucretia Jett Phillips fellow and Nia Award recipient. Her NYU Social Work Study in Puerto Rico especially equipped her for practice within diverse Spanish speaking communities.

Exercising with cultural humility, Pia has deeply engaged children and families through social work practice at the Jewish Board of Family and Children’s Services and the New York City Mission Society. As a community and political activist, Pia ran for NYC Council in 2017 and continued community organizing through leadership in several civic organizations.

A champion for literacy with an emphasis on social emotional learning, Pia’s notable children’s book, Celebrate Smiles teaches self-esteem, love and thankfulness. She founded Creating Legacies, a nonprofit organization inspiring community building through nurturing entrepreneurs and offering families diverse social and educational experiences. In the educational sector, Pia served as the 2018-2019 co-chair of the Diversity Committee at the Packer Collegiate Institute in New York City. Her experience as an alumna of the Oliver Scholars Program, allows Pia a unique opportunity to render her service to the Oliver Scholars student and parent body through educating about mental health, particularly during the pandemic.

As a speaker, Pia engages diverse audiences around race and cultural humility, political agency, collective trauma and healing, and the importance of self-care. She continues to share her expertise as a professor of social work at NYU Silver with a particular emphasis on the needs of immigrant communities and those reflective of the African Diaspora.

Find Pia at PROFESSORPIA.COM.

Pia and Et Alia owner Erin Wood began their friendship when they attended high school together.