Projection

this is what it’s like to be black
it is like being a projector screen
and everyone that you meet is a projector
forcing themselves on you—calling it light

and, when what they see reflected back is
angry, dumb, pitiful,
pornographic, violent,
inhuman

they tell themselves it is you they are seeing
but that’s not how projection works—
they forget to remember
whence the images come

About the Author

Kerri Fisher is a clinical social worker and a full-time lecturer at the Diana R. Garland School of Social Work at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. As an educator, writer and presenter, her work explores intersections of identity, with particular attention to race, gender, and spirituality. Though she is primarily an essayist, she believes we should all write with the economy and imagery of the poet. She enjoys employing creative forms and hints of magical realism as she tries to navigate the dual nature of biracial identity. Her writing has been recognized by the Writer’s League of Texas (Non-Fiction Manuscript Winner, 2013), the Mayborn Non-Fiction Conference (Third place, 2016) and through opportunities with the Collegeville Institute in Minnesota (2014, 2015, 2017) and as a Kenyon Fellow in Gambier, Ohio (2019).