Poetry and Public Life

Background

I teach at an African Centered Academy. At my school, students are encouraged to learn of their African heritage and embrace various customs of African people. According to Dr. C. Tsehloane Keto, “Fossil, biological and linguistic research has indicated that humanity, with its diverse languages and cultures originated on the African continent. If we accept a monogenetic origin for humanity, then all people of the world are of “African origin.¹” This concept is the core philosophy at my school. The population at my school is 96% African American. Over the past year, my school has made a shift in adopting various African centered customs. For example, each teacher in my school had an African country that was the central theme for his or her classroom. My classroom studied the Seychelles islands. In accordance with our current reading curriculum’s theme, students explored an identical concept at home and in the Seychelles. For instance, if one of the units in our reading curriculum had a theme of animals, students in turn studied the animals of the Seychelles. During the opening of our school, we engage in what is called Unity Celebration/Circle.  We come together in the gymnasium where students from youngest to eldest gather round in two circles. The youngest are in the inner circle, “being protected” by the eldest, who are then on the outer circle. Teachers and accompanying family or community members join in as well. One adult is in the middle of both circles, and leads the celebration. The celebration allows for reflections on ancestors in the Black community, and uplifting words or announcements from staff and students. This practice is common among African centered practitioners. The ritual sets the tone for the day, and encourages fellowship within the whole school. My school still has some ways to go to become fully African centered. As the school continues to grow, students are learning to tap into their roots, and point towards self-discovery.

My students live in a neighborhood that is predominately Black. With the impoverished outlook portrayed constantly in the media, many of my students’ sign of hope is within the walls of the school. The reality that my students face on a daily basis is disheartening. The stories that I am told of the potential dangers they face brings tears to my eyes. They are taught to survive, and have learned to navigate streets in ways that may seem daunting, but seamless to them, because it is their reality. Because my school encourages students to get in touch with their roots, and appreciate their heritage, they bypass the struggles and hone in on their ancestral gift to society.

The African Centered Perspective

My school prides itself with its emphasis on African heritage, and encourages its students to be connected to who they are. A West African saying describes the value of connectedness to a “time-space center” in these sobering expressions: [“]If you do not know where you are or where you have been, you cannot know where you are going—and, if you do not know where you are going, any road will take you there.”² My school strives to give students a vast opportunity to learn of their African heritage. “Afrocentric reform is an educational strategy designed to strengthen and improve the academic performance of students using principles based in ancient Egyptian culture.”³ At my school students learn of Egyptian gods and goddesses, for example Imhotep. Each morning the students and faculty greet one another with “Hotep,” which means peace in Swahili. This practice of reconnection aims to remind students that they came from greatness and are of royalty. Furthermore, Ginwright claims, “Afrocentric education is grounded on the “notion that culture influences all dimensions of human behavior, including teaching and learning.” Thus, my school places a tremendous emphasis on tying in African Centricity within the curriculum. The goal is not only for students to excel academically, but socially and culturally as well. This practice is sought through   “ Ma’at—an ancient Egyptian worldview based on truth, justice, propriety, harmony, reciprocity, balance, and order—whereby black students, in the process of reconnecting with African culture, can become more empowered.⁴”  Watkins outlines that “Afrocentrics desire a curriculum focused on African themes. Holding Africa forth as the cradle of civilization, they turn to ancient Kemetic (Egyptian) civilization as the model for knowledge, culture and social development.”⁵ This idea of empowerment is essential to the Black community. Where students of African American decent may be denigrated in the public eye, the African Centered approach celebrates the attributes of Blacks.

Neighborhood Ties

My school is located in what is referred to as the “Hill District.” This neighborhood is comprised of middle class as well as lower class citizens that are primarily African American. Students are very knowledgeable about the separation that the neighborhoods in Pittsburgh reflect. For instance, when speaking of a particular neighborhood, students can declare which race mostly resides there. Students not only separate by race, but by class as well. Students know which neighborhoods are thriving, and which ones are in a state of decay. My school encourages my students to think beyond the walls of subsidized housing complexes, and dispel the stigma that all Black people are poor and uneducated.

Understanding Race, Acceptance and Beauty in America

Race is a subject that most can find uncomfortable to discuss. Students at my school are confronted with who they are, and classify where they fit in the world on a daily basis. According to Williams H. Watkins, “Education, like the matter of ‘race,’ is situated in a context. The treatment of Africans was not a matter of negligence or accident. It was not benign. Massive and strategic attempts were made to use educational structures to destroy ‘critical consciousness,’ to alienate Africans from tradition and from each other, to teach African inferiority and European superiority.⁶” My school aims to dispel the absence of awareness, and (re)awaken the psyche to appreciate one’s heritage. Students are confronted with adversities, such as police brutality.  Although seemingly detached from the screen to what occurs in front of your face, students still “feel” the injustice as seen through the media. This is a traumatic event, and should not be overlooked. When students act out in unpleasing ways, many times they are in crisis, and it is a constant cry for help. Help, because media showcases Blacks in a way where students can clearly see their rejection in America. Furthermore, Watkins adds “The representation of Africans and African Americans looks quite different. School knowledge relegates people of color to savagery and barbarism. Most are now familiar with the negative image representation of African people⁷”. Watkins’ claim goes directly against the notion that acceptance and belonging in America has been achieved, as well as that any sense of Black beauty has been conveyed. He continues, “Again, the problem is not technical, but political. In healthy societies, the school is an extension of family and community. Students are precious recourses. When students become modities or isolates, detached from family, lost from a strong sense of belonging to a family, trouble lies ahead.⁸” This outcome is unfortunate, and it is often the fate of many of the students who enter my classroom, further proving that the idea of acceptance of Blacks is lacking in American society. My school is a safe haven that encourages students of African American decent to find their place by learning where they have come from, in the spirit of the proverb “You don’t know where you’re going, until you know where you’ve been.” The sense of family is imbedded in the fabric of my school. Students are given opportunities to showcase their beauty and talent, hoping to fulfill the hope of D. Marvin Jones’ Fear of a Hip-Hop Planet: America’s New Dilemma for an alternative to “depicting all Blacks as threatening, ruthless, or academically inept, inhabitants of the ghetto, who were believed to live a certain type of lifestyle.⁹”

Blacks have been known to be ostracized and depicted as a “disgrace” in American society for years. It is unfortunate that this outlook has not changed, and it seems as though Blacks are continuously striving to find their place in American society. America is called the “land of the free,” free for whom? Being called an American has its connotations. Many times you find that you have to hide or omit your heritage to “fit in” to the American way. Where do Black people hide? There is a distinctive characteristic that makes them different from any other race in the world. With the revelation of blackness, America has a history of demeaning and degrading the value of the Black man and woman in quite hostile and unbearable ways. How then can Black people be accepted, when the American society diminishes the very thought of empowerment? My students are struggling to find their place in society, and my school is making gains to eliminate this ideology.

Black Poetry

Students are not aware how much poetry is a part of their everyday lives. According to Gabbin, “Black poetry is poetry that (1) is grounded in the black experience; (2) utilizes black music as a structural or emulative model; and (3) “consciously” transforms the prevailing standards of poetry through an iconoclastic and innovative use of language.¹⁰” For purposes of this unit, students will exclusively explore Black poetry. Students can relate to Black poetry because it is reflective of the experiences they face. Black poetry also [enables] an entry point for students that are not familiar with poetry. Moreover, as Gabbin outlines, Black music is a common denominator for nearly all Black students. My students are motivated by song and rhythm. During our unity celebration students are able to play the drums and recite lyrics to songs or chants. The students are highly engaged and I often find them humming or singing throughout the day. Songs are a form of poetry that will be explored throughout this unit.

Negro Spirituals and Hymns

Negro Spirituals and Hymns, which surfaced during the 1800s, are a facet that will be studied throughout the unit. In the neighborhood of the Hill District where I teach, there are roughly 10 churches within close vicinity of the school. Many of the students attend church on a regular basis, and associate with the hymns sung therein. According to the Library of Congress article “African American Spirituals,” “A spiritual is a type of religious folksong that is most closely associated with the enslavement of African people in the American South.” With this context in mind, students can look at spirituals and hymns and identify trends of race, beauty and acceptance among Blacks. The article continues, “The form has its roots in the informal gatherings of African slaves in “praise houses” and outdoor meetings called “brush arbor meetings,” “bush meetings,” or “camp meetings” in the eighteenth century. At the meetings, participants would sing, chant and dance.¹¹” As aforementioned, this routine is very common in my school. “Spirituals also stem from the “ring shout,” a shuffling circular dance to chanting and handclapping that was common among early plantation slaves.¹²” “Spirituals are typically sung in a call and response form, with a leader improvising a line of text and a chorus of singers providing a solid refrain in unison.” Spirituals are also sometimes regarded as codified protest songs.¹³”

“In Africa, music had been central to people’s lives: Music making permeated important life events and daily activities.¹⁴” “However, the white colonists of North America were alarmed by and frowned upon the slaves’ African-infused way of worship because they considered it to be idolatrous and wild.¹⁵” “As a result, the gatherings were often banned and had to be conducted in a clandestine manner.” On the contrary, celebration through spirituals and hymns is encouraged in my school. In my school there is one spiritual we sing, the Negro National Anthem (Lift Every Voice and Sing). Students are celebrated for their vocal ability, and encouraged to rejoice loudly, and creatively. In addition, students are often compelled to be reflective about the words that embody the hymn , hence need to be taught how to decode a song that is sung habitually.

Another spiritual that is explored in the unit is “Go down Moses.” This spiritual is sung often in the Black church, and is representative of the enslavement the Israelites suffered under reign of the Egyptian Pharaohs. This spiritual shows the oppression of people by force, and the yearning for freedom and for that reason was “used as a code by Harriet Tubman to escape to freedom.¹⁶” Students will review how race, acceptance and beauty are outlined in spirituals and hymns before progressing to Blues and Harlem Renaissance poetry.

Blues and Harlem Renaissance Poetry

Langston Hughes will be the focus of this part of the unit. “Hughes addresses a number of problems facing black poetry: (1) how to affect a modern sensibility and at the same time maintain a grounding in the folk culture; (2) how to achieve the textual representation of the music, especially in terms of improvisation and variation of tone and timbre; and (3) how to use the vernacular without resorting to dialect.¹⁷” “He suggests the dialect without resorting to the contradictions and so-called broken English that mars most dialect poetry and some modern poetry by blacks.” There has been quite a bit of discussion around the area of language of African Americans. Some people just assume that Blacks use slang, and broken English, which is often seen as unintelligible.

Furthermore, Langston’s poetry was known to be “unashamedly black at a time when blackness was demode.” Many of his themes were “black is beautiful.¹⁸”Langston frequently wrote about black lives and frustrations.  His poems were also about “music, politics, America, love, the blues, and dreams.¹⁹” Hughes’s focus was particularly regarding “ordinary people, leading ordinary lives, and about a world that few would rightfully call beautiful, but that was worth living and changing.”²⁰ As my students read poetry by Langston Hughes, I want them to gather the vibe that although the world may not be seen as beautiful, it is worth living and changing. I want them to examine how Langston’s craft for writing focuses on Black lives in relation to race, acceptance and beauty in America.

My students will be studying the work of Langston Hughes in depth. Two pieces will be “I Too Sing America” and “My People.”  “I Too Sing America” was written in 1926. The poem is a declaration, where the speaker is proclaiming a right “in behalf of the reader” to feel welcomed in America, despite his darker appearance. “My People” was written also during the 1920s. The poem is a celebration of Black people, comparing the people to nature, and qualifies as a sort of anthem for Black beauty. These two poems speak specifically to race, and beauty. The students will review these poems and make connections with the Negro Spirituals studied. When students draw on differences and commonalities in Blues and Harlem Renaissance poetry they can move on to contemporary and modern poetry.

Contemporary Poetry

Students will also study more current forms of poetry. One poem outlined in this unit is by RuNett Nia Ebo, “Why God Made Me Black,” published in 1994. The poem starts off as a plea to God, asking why God made me Black. It starts, “Lord, Lord, Why did you make me black? Why did you make me someone the world wants to hold back?²¹” It goes on to explain the negative connotations associated with blackness. “Black is the color of dirty clothes; the color of grimy hands and feet.”Later, the author provides a perception of what God would say, such as “I didn’t make you in the image of darkness, I made you in the likeness of ME!” Students will also draw on differences and commonalities regarding race, acceptance and beauty in contemporary poetry and then progress to the Hip-Hop Era.

The Hip-Hop Era

Hip-Hop was born in America in 1973. Hip-Hop is a culture that is popular among mainstream listeners. Hip Hop is most notable for its distinctive sound, with percussion and rhythmic lyrical arrangements at the core. According to Marvin, critics of Hip-Hop claim “The narrative of hip-hop is corrosive to the moral fabric of America.²²” “The narrative of hip-hop as a moral corrosive can be historicized: black music from jazz to blues has been demonized as the devil’s music.²³” I notice, when I tell people that I listen to Hip Hop music, they look at me in amazement. They say “I would have never pinned you for someone to like Hip-Hop because you don’t act that way.” “That way” leaves much to imply—do they mean that because I don’t act “ghetto,” and I behave in a civilized manner, I can not possibly listen to that type of music? Does the music make the person? Something that is corrosive is seen as harsh, damaging and often unwanted. If I act as one surmises the music dictates, I will then become corrosive. This is another way of condemning the Black community, making them feel more unwelcome in America.

The fact is, Hip-Hop has roots grounded in reason, and acts as a catalyst to protest against injustices suffered by Blacks. For instance, some of my students have had a taste of police brutality, and when typically one would cringe at the sirens parading through the streets, my students tune it out as white noise. Marvin highlights, “The problem of police brutality is systemic and structural. This structure is almost a sense of modern day lynching, where some law enforcement officers are killing Blacks for sport, and spectacle. This issue is the most talked about in my classroom. My students fear being confronted by the police, and being killed in an instant because of their appearance.  

For the genre of Hip-Hop, one song students will study is “Changes,” by Tupac Shakur, written in the 1990s. Tupac highlights the struggles of the Black man and woman. He makes reference to police brutality, and other injustice in America.  Students will pinpoint commonalities and differences from the range of poetry studied throughout the unit: Negro Spirituals/Hymns, Blues/Harlem Renaissance Poetry, Contemporary/Modern Poetry and Hip-Hop. Students will zoom in on how race, acceptance and beauty are depicted throughout, and highlight changes that may or may not have occurred over time.