35 best Black History Month poems to celebrate your heritage in 2024
Best known as Black History Month, February has been a distinct month since the 1970s to celebrate all things black because of mind blowing historical events. In light of this, Black History poems for kids are part of what is held in high esteem when celebrating the season.
Source: UGC
What does Black History stand for? It is a time when African-Americans celebrate and reflect on what their past heroes did for them. During this period, they rejoice, thank, and appreciate leaders who fought for them and gave them hope, freedom, and faith in themselves.
35 best Black History Month poems
To add colours to the celebration of Black History Month, black poets have penned some beautiful lines worth appreciating. Some of the best Black History poems by African poets shared below are inspiring and help us understand what these heroes have done.
Inspirational poems for black youth
Black History Month is celebrated in diverse manners, including promoting each other's business, looking out for each other, and advocating for fairness and unity.
However, youth who may not be able to participate in those aforementioned things can celebrate too by learning poems and skits for Black History Month. Check out these inspirational poems for black youth and kids.
1. The Pool Players, Seven At The Golden Shovel - Gwendolyn Brooks
We real cool.
We left school.
We lurk late.
We strike straight.
We sing sin.
We thing gin.
We jazz June.
We die soon.
2. Won't You Celebrate With Me - Lucille Clifton
Source: UGC
Won't you celebrate with me
what I have shaped into
a kind of life? I had no model.
born in Babylon
both nonwhite and woman
what did I see to be except myself?
I made it up
here on this bridge between
starshine and clay,
my one hand holding tight
my other hand; come celebrate
with me that every day
something has tried to kill me
and has failed.
3. Tending - Elizabeth Alexander
In the pull-out bed with my brother
in my grandfather's Riverton apartment
my knees and ankles throbbed from growing,
pulsing so hard they kept me awake —
or was it the Metro North train cars
flying past the apartment, rocking the walls,
or was it the sound of the apartment's front doors
as heavy as prison doors clanging shut?
Was the Black Nation whispering to me
from the Jet magazines stacked on the floor, or
was it my brother's unfamiliar ions
vibrating, humming in his easeful sleep?
Tomorrow, as always, Grandfather will rise
to the Spanish-Town crow deep in his head
and perform his usual ablutions,
and prepare the apartment for the day,
and peel fruit for us, and prepare a hot meal
that can take us anywhere and onward.
Did sleep elude me because I could feel
the heft of unuttered love in his tending
our small bodies love a silent, mammoth thing
that overwhelmed me and kept me awake
as my growing bones did, growing larger
than anything else, I would know?
4. Still I Rise - Maya Angelou
You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise.
Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
'Cause I walk like I've got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.
Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still, I'll rise.
Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops,
Weakened by my soulful cries?
Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don't you take it awful hard
'Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines
Diggin' in my own backyard.
You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I'll rise.
Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise?
That I dance like I've got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?
Out of the huts of history's shame
I rise
Up from a past that's rooted in pain
I rise
I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear, I rise
Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.
5. The Tradition - Jericho Brown
Source: UGC
Aster. Nasturtium. Delphinium. We thought
Fingers in the dirt meant it was our dirt, learning
Names in heat, in elements classical
Philosophers said it could change us. Star Gazer.
Foxglove. Summer seemed to bloom against the will
Of the sun, which news reports claimed flamed hotter
On this planet, than, when our dead fathers
Wiped sweat from their necks. Cosmos. Baby's Breath.
Men like my brothers and me filmed what we
Planted for proof, we existed before
Too late, sped the video to see blossoms
Brought in seconds, the colours you expect in poems
Where the world ends, everything cut down.
John Crawford. Eric Garner. Mike Brown.
6. I Had A Dream - Curtiss L. Hayes
I had a dream
gathered up steam
and then just kept right on rolling
That black and white
no longer did fight
but unity both were extolling
I had a dream
built self-esteem
as I was bold and courageous
I made black and white
walk toward the light
and nobody thought it outrageous
I had a dream
making me deem
giving my life to the cause, providing
Both black and white
scale the height
And climb over the wall that's dividing
I had a dream
strong as a beam
sturdy and steady as can be
Saw black and white
holding on tight
To the vision that U.S. does mean we
I had a dream
we were a team
Looking out for one or the other
Black and white
with all their might
helping and loving one another
I had a dream
made it seem
I should put what I dreamt in a letter
For black and white
did what was right
things couldn't be any better
I had a dream
cookies and cream
were on the menu that day
Because black and white
are precious in his sight
and they will be together someday
7. Long Enough - Curtiss L. Hayes
I've been black long enough.
Long enough to know about the middle passage
Men, women, children, regardless of age
Stuffed in a ship, like animals in a cage
Long enough to know about slavery
And the white man's feeling of mastery
Causing human beings a lifetime of misery
Long enough to know about Jim Crow
The unjust laws instituted, blow after blow
Crushing the spirit of those they refused to know
Long enough to know about lynchings
The 'strange fruit' hanging from trees
After enduring a myriad of indignities
I've been black long enough.
Long enough to see separate but 'un'equal classrooms
Schools with computers, others with, maybe, brooms
Leading inevitably to unequal boardrooms
Source: UGC
Long enough to see the Civil Rights movement
Its effect on America barely a dent
Many courageous freedom fighters came and went
Long enough to see housing inequality
Driving past neighbourhoods with no diversity
Wondering will we ever have inclusivity
Long enough to see the police forget
Those they are sworn to serve and protect
Instead, they put a knee on their neck
I've been black long enough
Long enough to experience racial discrimination
I have felt it on more than one occasion
One time as a child on a family vacation
I was ten when I jumped into the motel pool
The white folks scattered; (was I made of stool?)
And glared at me as if I was the fool
Or when our family moved into a neighbourhood
Only to watch signs pop up on placard and wood
'For Sale' signs to get the hell out of the hood
The confederate flag flew at my oldest son's school
So what are concerned parents to do?
We dialogued a resolution until all parties were cool
I've been black long enough.
Hopeful or hopeless? Probably more of the latter
POTUS can't even say the words' Black Lives Matter'
To some I may sound like a man full of blather
I'm not, it's just that I've been black long enough
To know that enough is enough.
Easy short black history poems
Black History Month is a global occasion to celebrate black culture and the contributions of black leaders to society. Below are short black poetry that will inspire you.
8. Dreams - Langston Hughes
Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.
Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.
9. Dirt - Kwame Dames
We who gave, owned nothing,
learned the value of dirt, how
a man or a woman can stand
among the unruly growth,
look far into its limits,
a place of stone and entanglements,
and suddenly understand
the meaning of a name, a deed,
a currency of personhood.
Here, where we have laboured
for another man's gain, if it is fine
to own dirt and stone, it is
fine to have a plot where
a body may be planted to rot.
We who have built only
that which others have owned
learn the ritual of trees,
the rites of fruit picked
and eaten, the pleasures
of ownership. We who
have fled with sword
at our backs know the things
they have stolen from us, and we
will walk naked and filthy
into the open field knowing
only that this piece of dirt,
this expanse of nothing,
is the earnest of our faith
in the idea of tomorrow.
We will sell our bones
for a piece of dirt,
we will build new tribes
and plant new seeds
and bury our bones in our dirt.
10. A Place In The Country - Toi Derricotte
Source: UGC
We like the houses here.
We circle the lake turning
into dark cleavages, dense-packed gleamings.
We could live here, we say.
We're smiling, but thinking
of the houses at the last resort:
The real estate agent looked surprised
when she saw Bruce's face; then flipped
quickly through the glossy pictures—
I'm sure you won't like this one;
I can tell it's not your kind.
Our house in Essex Fells
took a year to sell and sold
to a black family. A friend explained,
once a house is owned
by black people, they're the only ones
they'll show it to. Do we want to live
some place with a view
overlooking the politics?
When we pass
an exit named " Black Mountain,"
Bruce smiles and jerks the wheel
as if we almost missed our turn.
Why must everything we want
come by stealth? Why is every road
in this bright country furnished
with its history of hatred? Yet
we keep smiling, driven
by a desire beyond the logic
of if we can afford it,
and whether we would love
or hate it if we did buy.
11. Mother To Son - Langston Hughes
Well, son, I'll tell you:
Life for me ain't been no crystal stair.
It's had tacks in it,
And splinters,
And boards torn up,
And places with no carpet on the floor-
Bare.
But all the time
I'se been a-climbin' on,
And reachin' landin's,
And turnin' corners,
And sometimes goin' in the dark
Where there ain't been no light.
So, boy, don't you turn back.
Don't you set down on the steps.
'Cause you finds it's kinder hard.
Don't you fall now-
For I'se still goin', honey,
I'se still climbin',
And life for me ain't been no crystal stair.
12. A Small Needful Fact - Ross Gay
Is that Eric Garner worked
for some time for the Parks and Rec.
Horticultural Department, which means,
perhaps, that with his very large hands,
perhaps, in all likelihood,
he put gently into the earth
some plants which, most likely,
some of them, in all likelihood,
continue to grow, continue
to do what such plants do, like house
and feed small and necessary creatures,
like being pleasant to touch and smell,
like converting sunlight
into food, like making it easier
for us to breathe.
13. Knoxville, Tennessee - Nikki Giovanni
I always like summer
best
you can eat fresh corn
from daddy's garden
and okra
and greens
and cabbage
and lots of
barbecue
and buttermilk
and homemade ice-cream
at the church picnic
and listen to
gospel music
outside
at the church
homecoming
and go to the mountains with
your grandmother
and go barefooted
and be warm
all the time
not only when you go to bed
and sleep
14. Barbarism - Terrance Haynes
Source: UGC
It was light and lusterless and somehow luckless,
The hair I cut from the head of my father-in-law,
It was pepper-blanched and wind-scuffed, thin
As a blown bulb's filament, it stuck to the teeth
Of my clippers like a dark language, the static
Covering his mind stuck to my fingers, it mingled
In halfhearted tufts with the dust. Because
Every barber's got a gift for mind reading in his touch,
I could hear what he would not say. He'd sworn
To never let his hair be cut again after his daughter
Passed away. I told him how my own boy,
His grandchild, weeps when my clippers bite
Behind his ear, but I could not say how
The blood there tastes. I almost showed him
How I bow my own head to the razor in my hands,
How a mirror is used to taper the nape.
Science and religion come to the same conclusion:
Someday all the hair on the body will fall away.
I'm certain he will only call on me for a few more years,
The crown of his head is already smoother
Than any part of his face. It shines like the light
In tiny bulbs of sweat before the sweat evaporates.
Poems for black sons
Learning and mastering several Black History poems give you a broader view of who you are and what you can become. Below are inspiring poems about being black and proud you can learn from.
15. Stand Up - Jessica Zannini
Stand up!
Let's make a difference
Stand up!
Let's fight resistance
Violence won't fit
We've got to resist
Protest and sit
Join hands to assist
Stand up!
Let's fix the wrong
And make us strong
16. His Dream Lives On - Langston Hughes
Today is a day we all sing
In honour of Martin Luther King
Wherever people fight to be free
His name is remembered with dignity
When black people weren't treated right
He stood strong to lead the fight
He fought with love, not guns or darts
He changed people's minds and their hearts
But some people didn't like his words
He was taken away to a better world
Yet his dream lives on, that all can be free
When we knock down the walls between you and me
17. Go To The Back Rosa Parks - Rita Dove
Go to the back of the bus, Rosa Parks
Go to the back and stay
" No, I won't, I think that's unfair
And I'm just too tired today
But everyone knows the rules, Rosa Parks
Everyone knows if you're black
You can't eat at white restaurants
And on busses, you sit in the back
So now it is time to move, Rosa Parks
" No, I'm not moving at all
I've got a voice and I'm going to use it
And thousands will hear the call
" We are coming to sit with you, Rosa Parks"
People black and white did say
" We're coming to change America
And bring equality here to stay!
18. Black History Month - Nikki Giovanni
If Black History Month is not
Viable, then wind does not
Carry the seeds and drop them
On fertile ground
Rain does not
Dampen the land
And encourage the seeds to root
Sun does not warm the earth
And kiss the seedlings
And tell them plain:
You're As Good as Anybody else
You have got a place here, too.
19. I Am Accused Of Tending To The Past - Lucille Clinton
Source: UGC
I am accused of tending to the past
As if I made it
As if I sculpted it
With my own hands. I did not
This past was waiting for me
When I came
A monstrous unnamed baby
And I with my mother's itch
Took it to breast and named it History.
She is more human now
Learning languages every day,
Remembering faces, names and dates
When she is strong enough to travel
On her own, beware, she will
20. I Am The Black Child - Mychal Wynn
I am special, ridicule cannot sway me
I am strong, obstacles cannot stop me
I hold my head high, proudly proclaiming my uniqueness
I am proud of my culture and my heritage
I am confident that I can achieve my every goal
I am becoming all that I can be
I am the black child, I am the child of God
21. I, Too - Langston Hughes
Tomorrow,
I'll be at the table
When company comes
Nobody'll dare
Say to me,
' Eat in the kitchen,'
Then.
Besides,
They'll see how beautiful I am
And be ashamed
I, too, am America.
22. Freedom Walk - Charlise F
Freedom:
They say we'll never get it
I believe when people hear
The coloured side of the story -" Injustice anywhere is an insult to justice everywhere."
They chant and throw objects
But I'm not giving up
I feel like I could walk
All night for freedom. Cops yell and block the roads and order people to go back.
Group of Caucasians chants in our faces
And hold up signs but all I can say is
" Keep walking."
23. Being Black - Unknown author
The colour of my skin is black
So my life seems to be under attack
All the anger of hatred of people is put into me
If only people would realise and see
That I'm no different from you, that stands before me
You tell me that I'm different and that I don't belong here
You tell me that your only wish is that I'd completely disappear
But there are one of two people that know the truth
Which is the fact that I am just another black
Trying to survive in a world of fear
Just because my family don't originate from here.
24. Democracy - Langston Hughes
Democracy will not come
Today, this year
Nor ever
Through compromise and fear.
I have as much right
As the other fellow has
To stand
On my two feet
And own the land.
I tire so of hearing people say,
Let things take their course.
Tomorrow is another day.
I do not need freedom when I'm dead
I cannot live on tomorrow's bread
Black History Month poems for church
Black History Month is a time to commemorate the lives and achievements of all African Americans. It is also a moment to reflect on Christianity, the church, and faith. Here are some Christian poetry for Black History Month.
25. 16th Street Baptist Church Speaks - Michael Christopher
I was born in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1911, on 16th Street.
By born, I mean they finish my construction.
I was erected as an edifice to the Almighty
A place the worship.
A rally point for justice fighters
And a war room for the commanders of the cause.
I can name-drop, but that we rude:
Martin Luther King, Ralph David Abernathy.
Thousands of people release millions of
prayers beneath my roof.
Source: UGC
I stood witness to hopes, dreams, marriages and baptisms.
But of all the dignitaries of grace, my pues,
The most important, the most precious were Denise, Addy Mae, Carolyn and Cynthia.
Those 4 girls were visiting me for Sunday school or something to like.
There was a lot of turmoil in the old days.
I could tell because of all the comings and goings and whatnot.
Some fuss about integration.
Even our illustrious Governor, George Wallace, has something to say about the issues of the day.
Let me see, I think what he said was: 'to stop integration, Alabama
needed a few first-class funerals.'
Shortly after, a white gentleman place a package under my steps.
At the time, I was over 50 years old, and I had grown to know what the faces of men meant.
Each one told a story or revealed his heart.
I knew that was no gift set before me.
I could feel the spirit of the lord shutter with grief and I knew I had to do something, for those four little girls are still within me.
Girls! Girls, you gotta get! Get on from around here!
But maybe, if my steeple wasn't just a tower,
I could do more than babble.
I tried so hard.
I yelled with everything I had:
Girls! Girls, you gotta get-get on home now!
But all they can hear was me moan and creek like I was settling into my foundation.
I was no longer like the servant Peter, I could not be their rock.
In that split second of eternity, I tried to contain the blast.
I held back the wave of Satan's Hellfire like I held on every prayer whispered in my walls.
I use all my strength to stop the embers.
I refused the shards.
I stop the splitters.
I bound every brick.
I subdued the morter.
I stood in the gap in the twinkling of an eye,
My god needed to call them home.
And in that moment of forever, they felt the love of my lord!
But even eternity must end.
I could not hold back the blast forever, and I realized all I could do was blanket their bodies in what was left of me.
Swallow them in my destruction.
Tuck them in with my dust.
I won't name the white supremacist who was convicted of this horrific crime,
But Denise Mcnair, Addy Mae Collins, Carole Roberston
and Cynthia Wesley transfigured into a spark,
That fan the plains of freedom!
And I,
I had the honour,
I had the….
I am so sorry that I could not save you.
26. We'll Get Through This - Joanna Fuchs
Lord, our troubles
Are so great,
We don't know what to do;
The price for our
Iniquity
Is finally coming due.
The world is crumbling
All about;
No safe place can be found.
Right is wrong,
Wrong is right;
The change is quite profound.
Lord, we need
Your guiding light
To lead us out of here;
We'll focus on
Your Word, and prayer,
To take away our fear.
Temptations of
This dying world
We'll rule out and let go;
Give our burdens
All to you,
Shed all worldly woe.
That's how we'll
Get through this, Lord,
Fixed on heaven above,
Assured of your
protection, help,
And everlasting love.
27. A Perfect Christian - Joanna Fuchs
Source: UGC
You could count on a perfect Christian
To always be gentle and humble,
To be immune to sin,
And never, ever stumble.
He'd study and remember
All of God's commands;
He'd be trustworthy, moral and honest;
You'd know just where he stands.
With others, she'd be in harmony;
She'd never lose her cool;
Forgiving and forgetting,
Following the Golden Rule.
He'd surrender his life to God,
Full of joy and peace,
Free of stress and worry…
Perfect, pure release.
She'd lift up everyone,
Full of sweet compassion,
Free of worldly wants,
Ignoring worldly fashion.
But we can't ever be perfect,
So we always need to pray
For the strength to do our best
To love God and obey.
28. Troubles That Never Came - David V. Bush
The bridges that I've often crossed
Before they came in sight,
Have been of many, many kinds;
Been grey, or black, or white.
I fancied many brutish ones,
And many could not name;
I've had my many troubles, but
The worst ones never came!
When squirrels get their nuts for food.
They gather for a year,
And do not worry 'bout the next,
For that they have no fear,
But man is not content today,
He lives with troubled aim;
A-thinking 'bout the troubles past.
And those which never came!
Some people build their mounts of care
Of many sorts and kind.
Which like the bridges that they build.
Are mostly in their mind.
Though sun's ablaze and sky is clear,
They think of lightning's flame.
They had their many troubles, but
The worst ones never came!
Now God is in the universe.
The birds and squirrels know,
They worry not, nor do they fret.
For what we reap we sow,
If we sow deeds they'll bear their fruit.
For God will hear our claim;
If we trust Him then we can say.
The worst ones never came!
Black women's poetry
Black History Month allows everyone to celebrate, commemorate, and honour black ancestry and culture. Here are some touching poems to help you study the rich legacy of black poetry.
29. Life Doesn't Frighten Me - Maya Angelou
Shadows on the wall
Noises down the hall
Life doesn't frighten me at all
Bad dogs barking loud
Big ghosts in a cloud
Life doesn't frighten me at all
Mean old Mother Goose
Lions on the loose
They don't frighten me at all
Dragons breathing flame
On my counterpane
That doesn't frighten me at all.
I go boo
Make them shoo
I make fun
Way they run
I won't cry
So they fly
I just smile
They go wild
Life doesn't frighten me at all.
Tough guys fight
All alone at night
Life doesn't frighten me at all.
Panthers in the park
Strangers in the dark
No, they don't frighten me at all.
That new classroom where
Boys all pull my hair
(Kissy little girls
With their hair in curls)
They don't frighten me at all.
Don't show me frogs and snakes
And listen for my scream,
If I'm afraid at all
It's only in my dreams.
I've got a magic charm
That I keep up my sleeve
I can walk the ocean floor
And never have to breathe.
Life doesn't frighten me at all
Not at all
Not at all.
Life doesn't frighten me at all.
30. A Place in the Country - Toi Derricotte
Source: UGC
We like the houses here.
We circle the lake turning
into dark cleavages, dense-packed gleamings.
We could live here, we say.
We're smiling, but thinking
of the houses at the last resort:
The real estate agent looked surprised
when she saw Bruce's face; then flipped
quickly through the glossy pictures—
I'm sure you won't like this one;
I can tell it's not your kind.
Our house in Essex Fells
took a year to sell and sold
to a black family. A friend explained,
once a house is owned
by black people, they're the only ones
they'll show it to. Do we want to live
some place with a view
overlooking the politics?
When we pass
an exit named "Black Mountain,"
Bruce smiles and jerks the wheel
as if we almost missed our turn.
Why must everything we want
come by stealth? Why is every road
in this bright country furnished
with its history of hatred?
Yet we keep smiling, driven
by a desire beyond the logic
of if we can afford it,
and whether we would love
or hate it if we did buy.
31. Phenomenal Woman - Maya Angelou
Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.
I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size
But when I start to tell them,
They think I'm telling lies.
I say,
It's in the reach of my arms
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.
I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please,
And to a man,
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees.
Then they swarm around me,
A hive of honey bees.
I say,
It's the fire in my eyes,
And the flash of my teeth,
The swing in my waist,
And the joy in my feet.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.
Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me.
They try so much
But they can't touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them
They say they still can't see.
I say,
It's in the arch of my back,
The sun of my smile,
The ride of my breasts,
The grace of my style.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.
Now you understand
Just why my head's not bowed.
I don't shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud.
When you see me passing
It ought to make you proud.
I say,
It's in the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
the palm of my hand,
The need of my care,
'Cause I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.
32. Human Family - Maya Angelou
I note the obvious differences
in the human family.
Some of us are serious,
some thrive on comedy.
Some declare their lives are lived
as true profundity,
and others claim they really live
the real reality.
The variety of our skin tones
can confuse, bemuse, delight,
brown and pink and beige and purple,
tan and blue and white.
I've sailed upon the seven seas
and stopped in every land,
I've seen the wonders of the world
not yet one common man.
I know ten thousand women
called Jane and Mary Jane,
but I've not seen any two
who really were the same.
Mirror twins are different
although their features jibe,
and lovers think quite different thoughts
while lying side by side.
We love and lose in China,
we weep on England's moors,
and laugh and moan in Guinea,
and thrive on Spanish shores.
We seek success in Finland,
are born and die in Maine.
In minor ways we differ,
in major we're the same.
I note the obvious differences
between each sort and type,
but we are more alike, my friends,
than we are unalike.
We are more alike, my friends,
than we are unalike.
We are more alike, my friends,
than we are unalike.
33. Rose Painted - Paige
Source: UGC
If I were a Rose painted black,
would you cast me aside
like blackened, burnt rice?
Would my colour tarnish my sweet smell?
If I were a Rose painted black,
would the richness of my ebony petals
make me unworthy
of being called
a Rose?
If I were a Rose painted white,
would my ivory petals be worth more than silver?
Would my sweet smell captivate
a room welcomingly?
If I were just a Rose,
sweet-smelling and vibrant
and your mind was blind...
would my color matter?
34. I Heard The Voices Scream - Keisha Swafford
I heard the voices scream
"Best shut your mouth."
When prejudice ran wild
While hatred ruled the south
I heard the voices scream
"Back of the bus."
Never knew why whites thought
They were better than us
I heard the voices scream
"Blacks' setting off sparks."
When they saw the courage
Of the great Rosa Parks
I heard the voices scream
"Blacks can't go on strike."
But instead of the bus
To our jobs we would hike
I heard the voices scream
"We black folks have our pride."
As we walked hand in hand
And stood there side by side
I heard "I have a Dream."
By Martin Luther King,
"If we stick with this thing
The voices will not scream."
Heard, "Thank God Almighty,"
And "I am Free at Last."
Prejudice and hatred
Would now live in the past
I heard people singing
Songs full of love and peace
I heard people praying
For racism to cease
I heard the voices scream
"Black, pick my cotton
Color girl wash my floors"
Words won't be forgotten
I heard the voices scream
"White man's out and about."
I heard, "I Have a Dream"
Just as the shots rang out
I heard the teardrops fall
I heard God's Angels sing
I heard the black man say,
"They murdered Doctor King."
I heard the voices scream
"Revenge is what we seek."
And not, "I Have a Dream
Someday our race will peak."
I heard the voices scream
"We must stick together
Carry out Martin's dream
If it takes forever."
I heard the voices scream
"We've won our Civil Rights."
The words, "I Have a Dream
We're equal to the whites."
I heard the voices scream
"Racism's here to stay
But thank God it isn't
As bad as yesterday."
I heard the voices scream,
"Black, back of the bus."
Never knew why whites thought
They were better than us
I heard my own voice scream
When my sweet Momma died
Leaving her legacy
Her honor and her pride
I heard, "I think I'll sit
I'm tired and it's dark"
Were said by my Momma
Whose name was Rosa Parks
35. Miss Rosie - Lucille Clifton
Source: UGC
when I watch you
wrapped up like garbage
sitting, surrounded by the smell
of too old potato peels
or
when I watch you
in your old man's shoes
with the little toe cut out
sitting, waiting for your mind
like next week's grocery
I say
when I watch you
you wet brown bag of a woman
who used to be the best looking gal in Georgia
used to be called the Georgia Rose
I stand up
through your destruction
I stand up
No doubt, Black History Month poems will help African-American people have a glimpse of their history and connect with each other. These poems have the lasting inspiration of literature, allowing the black community's accomplishments and opinions to constantly shine and be conveyed.
Briefly.co.za highlighted the top Tswana traditional wedding cake designs. More couples in South Africa are embracing the concept of conventional weddings.
Tswana is a colourful culture that will make your big day memorable with the right cake design. The cake's colour, pattern, and shape should complement the ceremony's general theme.
Source: Briefly News
Favour Adeaga (Lifestyle writer) Dr. Favour Adeaga is an author, speaker, and coach. He graduated with a degree in Mass Communication from The Polytechnic, Ibadan, Nigeria. He did his internship at The Nation Newspaper and taught diploma students in Newspaper and Magazine courses at the Nasarawa State University, Keffi. He has curated the facts and life hacks category since 2018. Dr Favour is the author of several books available on Amazon. He currently lives in Nigeria. Email: favouradeaga@gmail.com
Jackline Wangare (Lifestyle writer) Jackline Simwa is a content writer at Briefly.co.za, where she has worked since mid-2021. She tackles diverse topics, including finance, entertainment, sports, and lifestyle. Previously, she worked at The Campanile by Kenyatta University. She has more than five years in writing. Jackline graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Economics (2019) and a Diploma in Marketing (2015) from Kenyatta University. In 2023, Jackline finished the AFP course on Digital Investigation Techniques and Google News Initiative course in 2024. Email: simwajackie2022@gmail.com.
