Through Sunni's poetry she promotes ideas of self-love for as Audre Lorde said "caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation and that is an act of political warfare". Living in a society where at every turn there are commercials, magazines, and billboards that praise a certain standard of beauty while criticizing the rest; loving ourselves regardless of what the world may say or believe is a must for our survival. Sunni also talks about seeing God and or a higher being in nature and in ourselves (for after all we are God's creation and a mere reflection of God's greatness). She talks about police brutality which is ever present, especially in neighborhoods where the majority of the population in that neighborhood is of color as Antoine "Mikey Rocks" Reed from The Cool Kids said "crooked cops is the biggest gang on the block patrollin' the streets". She also mentions war and the repetitive negative behaviors of our government and since we don't pay attention to our history, it's bound to repeat itself. She talks about slavery; she talks about social conflicts within the black community such as violence, poverty and lack of opportunity and motivation amongst our youth. And in reality when you think about it these are all interrelated, we are still suffering from the bondage of slavery. Yet, you will note that there is an overarching theme of hope, all is not lost.
Below is a commercial Sunni Patterson did for a program called "Steps to a Healthier Louisiana". This is part of her doing her "work" (in reference to the Audre Lorde quote at the top of the page) here she is educating her community on an issue that is deteriorating the black community as a whole, nutrition (or lack there of). Her action and involvement in her community should make us ask ourselves, "what am I doing to strengthen and unite my community?".
Not only does she try to reach out to her own community but, she speaks to the masses. In doing so she educates those unbeknownst to her struggle and her peoples struggle, and she makes people aware of the needs of the community and what they can do to improve the current conditions.
This is the essay I got the Audre Lorde quote (found in the description) from. Check this book out, it is so inspiring!:
Lorde, Audre. "The Transformation of Silence into Language and Action." Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches. Trumansburg, NY: Crossing, 1984. 40-44. Print.
Lorde, Audre. "The Transformation of Silence into Language and Action." Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches. Trumansburg, NY: Crossing, 1984. 40-44. Print.