Black voices have always unequivocally articulated how white people benefit from being white. Black voices have taught me to listen, to take responsibility for my own level of awareness and to continue to educate myself about racial inequity. In this newsletter I invite you to pay attention to the powerful and varied voices of these and other Black writers and leaders. Begin to ask and don’t stop asking: “What will I do to end white privilege?” Find a sustainable, to-the-end-of-time, way to participate, contribute and begin to make reparations.
I had crossed the line. I was free; but there was no one to welcome me to the land of freedom. I was a stranger in a strange land. Harriet Tubman
Writers & Leaders
Kwame Dawes Poet and Novelist Chancellor’s Professor of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and editor-in-chief of Pairie Schooner. http://kwamedawes.com/
Sonia Sanchez Poet. Instrumental in introducing black-studies courses into university curricula. https://soniasanchez.net/
Angelina Weld Grimké Essayist, Playwright, Fiction writer. Pivotal figure of the Harlem Renaissance. First African-American woman to write a publicly performed play. https://poets.org/poet/angelina-weld-grimke
Saeed Jones Poet: Prelude to Bruise. BuzzFeed editor, created a literary journal and a $12,000 fellowship for emerging writers. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/saeed-jones
Claudia Rankine Poet: An American Lyric. 2014 National Book Critics Circle Award. Frederick Iseman Profesor Poetry at Yale University. Founded a multi-disciplinary collaboration called the Racial Imaginary Institute. http://claudiarankine.com/
Tracy K. Smith Poet: The Body’s Question, Duende, and Life on Mars. Poet Laureate of the United States 2017. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/tracy-k-smith
Nikki Giovanni University Distinguished Professor at Virginia Tech, civil rights activist and renowned poet. Black Feeling, Black Talk; Black Judgement, bothconsidered crucial products of the Black Rights Movement. https://nikki-giovanni.com/
Staceyann Chin: Poet. Co-wrote Russell Simmons Def Poetry Jam, performs spoken-word poetry and teaches at Brooklyn’s Saint Ann’s School. Won 1999 Chicago People of Color Slam and WORD: The First Slam for Television. @staceyannchin
Aafa Michael Weaver Poet: Water Song, Spirit Boxing, City of Eternal Spring, The Government of Nature, The Ten Lights of God. Received Pew Fellowship, Fulbright Scholar appointment to Taiwan. Held Alumnae Endowed Chair for 20 years at Simmons College. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/afaa-michael-weave
Terry Jenoure Musician, writer, visual artist and educator. Director Augusta Savage Gallery at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Consultant for National Endowment for the Arts, the Lila Wallace Readers digest Fund, the Ford Foundation and the Connecticut Commission for Arts Tourism. https://www.terryjenoure.com/
Nikky Finney: Poet: Love Child’s Hotbed of Occasional Poetry, Head Off & Split, Rice, The World is Round, Sweet Box of Words. John H. Bennett. Jr., Chair in Creative Writing and Southern letters in both the Department of English Language and Literature and the African American Studies Program at the University of South Carolina. https://nikkyfinney.net/about.html
Ntozake Shange Playwright, Poet, Novelist and more: For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/when the Rainbow is Enuf. Spell No. 7 won an Obie. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/ntozake-shange
Rachel Cargle Writer, Lecturer, public academic, and founder of The Loveland Foundation. https://www.rachelcargle.com/ @rachel.cargle
Aja Barber Writer and sustainability expert. @ajabarber https://www.patreon.com › AjaBarber
Alicia Garza Writer, public speaker, Special Projects Director for National Domestic Workers Alliance, and co-founder of the Black Lives Matter network. https://aliciagarza.com/ @chasinggarza
Ijeoma Oluo Speaker and author of So You Want to Talk About Race. http://www.ijeomaoluo.com/ @ijeomaoluo
Monique Melton Anti-racism educator, author, speaker, and host of the Shine Brighter Together podcast. https://www.moniquemelton.com/ @moemotivate
Tamika Mallory Co-president of the Women’s March movement, Co-founder of Until Freedom, and a champion for social justice. https://www.kepplerspeakers.com/speakers/tamika-mallory @tamikadmallory
Megan Torres Licensed social worker, writer, therapist, and racial justice advocate. https://megantorres.me/ @trustmeimasocialworker
Brittany Packnett Cunningham Activist, writer, educator, co-host of Pod: Save the People and co-founder of Campaign Zero. https://brittanypacknett.com/ @mspackyetti
Austin Channing Brown Writer, speaker, producer, and author of I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness. http://austinchanning.com/ @austinchanning
Autumn Gupta and Bryanna Wallace Justice in June Become Better Allies: https://justiceinjune.org/
