Black history month pays homage to the remarkable social and political strides made by the African-American community. A solemn beauty emerges from the celebration of the past and the remembrance of sacrifices. Yet, equally resplendent as social history is the artistic history of black creators. In particular, the influence of poetry merits particular attention. Poems can reverberate in its reader for years and galvanize a crowd to attain a common goal. Poems can transport and mobilize its reader. On repeated occasions, black poets have harnessed the transformative power of verse. Below is a gallery of poems crafted by budding writers and some of the most eminent black voices in history.
“Still I Rise” by Maya Angelou
“The Lost Woods as Elegy to Black Childhood” by Derrick Austin
“Brotherhood” by Georgia Douglas Johnson
“The Tradition” by Jericho Brown
“Dreams” by Langston Hughes