The Ayes Have It When I think of Trayvon Martin, I think of Emmett Till, when I think of Emmett Till, I think of young black men in the South, then I think of young, white men in the South. I think of my husband, who is white, born and raised in Franklin, TN. I think of how when he tries to hold my hand, sometimes I pull away and not because I don’t love him, but because I’m conscious, I think of other people, other people who are born in the South, that remember the old South and in fact long for it. I think about the nooses that hung on our back porch when I was little: one for me and one for my mom, I think about how people say, It’s not about race, don’t make it about race, I wish Black people would stop talking about race! When all I‘ve ever known is being defined by my race. What are you? Where are you from? I say, California, but that’s not what they are looking for- they are asking about my parents, what they want to know is that my mother is black and my dad is white. I’m mixed. So when I think about a post-racial America, I don’t- because the trees in the South have strange fruit histories, the roots are deep red, tangled and gnarled, so again- when I think of Trayvon, I think of hoodies, then I think of stereotypes, I think of skittles and high fructose corn syrup, tasting the rainbow, and then I think of gay marriage, then just marriage in general and I’m back to my husband and he’s trying to hold my hand again, but the truth is- I’m scared, because I have to love him differently in the South, just like young black men have to think differently in the South, they can’t just wink at any woman, Mr. Till, just walk through any neighborhood, Mr. Martin. Just wear any hoodie, buy any iced tea. Someone is watching, always watching us, so when I think about justice, I think about eyeballs, the first impression, the action that follows, George Zimmerman stepping out of his car. I think, what would have happened if he had just given him a ride home? -Tiana Clark For Emmett Till, Trayvon Martin and every family denied justice A FILM BY Savanah Leaf 
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS
 Todd Boss, Egg Creative, Claire McGirr PRODUCER Edward Freeman DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY Joel Honeywell EDITOR Pete Fullarton IN ASSOCIATION WITH Stink Films “The Ayes Have It,” a poem by Tiana Clark. ©2012 Tiana Clark. Used by permission. This poem first appeared in Raven Chronicles. STORY BY Savanah Leaf STARRING Ayesha McMahon Isiah Chambers Ajani Johnson–Goffe Olivia Bright Harry Tibble Connie Freeman Skyla Wilson Ayaana Aschkar-Stevens Mulan Itoje Pippa Christian Laurence Sessou Jason Ryall Victoria Blauss VOICEOVER ARTIST
 Malina Tirrell CASTING BY Savanah Leaf Tytiah Blake ASSISTANT DIRECTOR Sophia Dembitzer FIRST ASSISTANT CAMERA Andrew Bradley Ondrej Rybar SECOND CAMERA ASSISTANT Carmen Pellón Brussosa STEADICAM OPERATOR Jake Whitehouse CAMERA TRAINEE Kairo Jones Vivien Goddard-Stephens GAFFER Ben Miller ART DEPARTMENT Georgia Charter HAIR Susy Etionsa MAKE-UP Yvette Francesca STYLIST Sophia Dembitzer STINK FILMS ASSOCIATE PRODUCER Andrew Levene THE MILL COLOURIST Oisin O’Driscoll PRODUCER Dan Kreeger SOUND DESIGN Ben Chick FOLEY EDITOR Sophia Hardman RE-RECORDING MIXER Will Miller SPECIAL THANKS Stink The Mill Feral ProCam Panavision Ide Verde Stock Yard Connie at Merton Film Office Clara and Michael Freeman Josh Posner Catering

Tiana Clark, a first-year poetry student in Vanderbilt's MFA Program in Creative Writing, has won the top prize in a leading poetry journal's annual competition. Clark won first place in the 2015 Rattle Poetry Prize competition for her poem "Equilibrium." The prize carries with it an award of $10,000.