DEFYING ERASURE AND CENTERING BLACKNESS in Ariana Brown's We are Owed.

We are Owed (2021), queer Black Mexican American poet Ariana Brown's most recent poetr y collection, defies the notion of mestizaje which idealizes the indigenous past and minimizes Black Latinx collective consciousness. I analyze Brown's poetic voice's alienation from Mexicans and Mexican Americans, which is rooted in Mexico's history of exclusion of its African origins in its nation-building projects. Despite this exclusion, she finds empowerment by connecting to historically marginalized Black figures and finding solidarity with Black people who share a history of enslavement in spite of geographic differences. Even with a traumatic past under the yoke of enslavement, she finds consolation through the remembrance of her collective history by identifying with African ancestors. By forefronting and incorporating these ancestors and Black figures into her personal narrative, she reclaims power and thus challenges the dominant narrative that excludes Blackness. This paper posits Ariana Brown's poetic voice and presents us with alternatives to the traditional concept of Latinidad through a profound identification with her African heritage in celebration of Blackness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]