“I am a black poet who will not remain silent while this nation murders black people. I have a right to be angry.”
That’s how all the videos begin. There are all over the Internet, and you can find them on YouTube, Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook, and Vimeo. What are they? They are videos from BLACK POETS SPEAK OUT by African American poets, writers, scholars and activists sharing how they feel about police brutality, and other injustices that go unpunished against people of color.
The videos were the result of a discussion among poets Mahogany L. Browne, Amanda Johnston, Jonterri Gadson, Jericho Brown, among others on the Cave Canem Foundation Facebook page about Michael Brown’s murder in Ferguson, Missouri (Cave Canem is a prestigious organization for black poets). In the wake of the decision not to indict the police officer who murdered Brown, the poets began looking for ways to respond with individual actions. Gadson suggested videos, and many decided to recite poems from the height of the civil rights and Black Arts Movement (BAM), in order to show that 30 years later the conversation is still the same.
A Tumblr page was initially setup to host a couple dozen of videos, which quickly gained momentum and evolved into a literary movement across the Internet, and around the globe. It wasn’t long before other poets with no connection to Cave Canem began posting their own videos, first of BAM poems, then of contemporaries, and their own work, with well over 200 videos on numerous media outlets (e.g., YouTube, Vimeo, etc.), all protesting the same thing: the unpunished deaths of unarmed black men such as Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin, Tamir Rice, Eric Garner, and so many others. Soon, BLACK POETS SPEAK OUT grew into a series of community readings around the world, a national letter campaign, as well as lesson plans utilizing BLACK POETS SPEAK OUT videos for the classroom.
Of course, there has yet to be any mainstream media coverage on this campaign.
Black Poets Speak Out reflects a tremendous cultural protest project that is taking place in the poetry community. Cultural workers are so important to social movements, justice movements and activism, and so I have great hope that the project will not lose momentum and continue its good works in the future. It was John F. Kennedy who once said:
“When power leads man toward arrogance, poetry reminds him of his limitations. When power narrows the area of man’s concern, poetry reminds him of the richness and diversity of existence. When power corrupts, poetry cleanses.” (1963)
Here’s hoping that more poets, writers, scholars and activists will use BLACK POETS SPEAK OUT as a cue to organically organize, and speak truths to power when needed, because when serving this vision of truths, it’s when the artist best serves his nation. Without their voices, we have nothing to look forward to with hope.
As I listened to some of the videos, while I have a great appreciation listening to the BAM readings, I was particularly impressed by some of the well-written and well-performed original poetry. This one features spoken-word poet, Cecelia Jordan. Enjoy, but more importantly, support the cause!
