April is National Poetry Month and as a poet, I begin this month’s column with excerpts of a poem from my first book of poetry, THE TRUTH BE TOLD.

The art of poetry is an integral part of the oral history for Black people.  

Gwendolyn Brooks reminds us of what it’s like To Be in Love. The enslaved Phyllis Wheatly encourages us with On Imagination. Paul Dunbar beckons us with his Invitation to Love.  Langston Hughes challenges our country to Let America Be America Again (because it was never America to him!)  Maya Angelou summons us with Still I Rise.  Nikki Giovanni emboldens us with Ego Tripping.

Every Black poet throughout history has used the power of the pen to articulate our anger, describe our desperation, and passionately plead our longing for peace.  Langston Hughes (1902 – 1967) often wrote of the injustices and blatant racism experienced by Blacks and was quite passionate about his dream for a united America.  Jamaican born Claude McKay (1889 – 1948) frequently expressed disdain for racism and bigotry in the US.  However, instead of allowing his bitterness to hold him hostage, he rose above it to become a contributing force for change. A hard to digest, yet powerful poem was written by Ester Popel (1896 – 1958) as she juxtaposed the Pledge of Allegiance to the American Flag with her narrative about a lynching she once witnessed.

Poets are visionary and are often able to see the ‘not yet’ in the midst of ‘the right now’.  Local poet Clinton Powell was such a person.  Prior to passing in 2011, Clinton touched many lives in Savannah as a poet, teacher, coach, activist, and visionary. He co-founded the Spitfire Poetry Group and organized the Savannah Spoken Word Festival – which has continued over the past 10 years!  When I came to Savannah and searched for the spoken word scene, I discovered Spitfire Poetry Group and shared many original poems on their stage.  They even dubbed me, ‘Mama Spitfire’!  I count it an honor to be so honored by the group Clinton co-founded.

Those who knew Clinton Powell remember his love for words and his creative ability to use them effectively.  In a column to honor Powell at the time of his passing, local journalist, Jim Morekis, described Clinton as a man who “made any language come alive anywhere he was… he was a skinny Black dude who graduated from Beach High, with the dreads of a prophet, the soul of a poet, the presence of a performer, and the patient heart of a teacher.”

Indeed, poetry is a powerful teaching tool that can be used to create unity. And, unity, steeped in equality, is sorely needed right now.  As a poetic visionary, I echo the sentiments of Langston Hughes in his poem, I, Too, Sing America.  In that poem Hughes, like Martin Luther King and so many other Black poets and writers, envisioned a table where diversity is appreciated and valued.  

Like Powell, I teach. Like Hughes, I write.  Like Martin, I dream.

“I, too, dream that one day the sons of former slaves and former slave owners  will sit together around the table of brotherhood and the fact that differences don’t have to make a difference will finally be understood.” 

(excerpt from The King Who Dreamed in my book, THE TRUTH BE TOLD)