In today's Thoughtful Thursday we feature two poems that highlight touchy subjects in the Black community: being called "articulate" and the head nod. I learned the definition of "articulate" from my uncle Percy Sutton, who included in its definition the fact that you should not regard it as a compliment when white people directed it at you. Uncle Percy, [...]
Today's Thoughtful Thursday showcases more current voices in poetry, courtesy of poets.org's focus on featuring Black poets in its poem-a-day offering throughout the summer. If there were ever a time to subscribe to poem-a-day, it would be now, so that you can have Black poetry pop into your inbox on a daily basis for the next few months. What [...]
We are a few days away from Independence Day 2020. As in prior years today's Thoughtful Thursday celebrates Independence Day with two poems from one of America's most beloved and well-known poets, Langston Hughes (1902-1967). These poems are even more powerful in light of recent events. Share and discuss with your children. Enjoy, and enjoy the 4th! I, Too, [...]
In today's Thoughtful Thursday we focus on two young African American poets: Angelo Geter (left photo) and Joshua Bennett (right photo). Angelo Geter is a poet and performance artist also known as "EyeAmBic." A National Poetry Slam champion, Geter is releasing his debut poetry collection in late 2020. He is the Poet Laureate of Rock Hill, SC, and an Academy [...]
Today's Thoughtful Thursday presents the poem "What Shall I Tell My Children Who are Black (Reflections of an African American Mother)" by artist, poet, author, and educator Margaret Burroughs (1915-2010). It was written in 1968, but could well have been written this week. In it Burroughs addresses the issue of how to raise black boys up to be confident [...]
Whenever some racially based fresh hell befalls a Black person we at GCP, along with so many others, are compelled to cry out. Sometimes we write about how to talk to our children about the latest horror, trying to walk that fine line between telling them the way of the world to help build their armor and scaring them [...]
Memorial Day is a few days away. While we are usually celebrating it as summer's official start, this year it makes much more sense to think about what the holiday is really about: honoring those who have died during war while serving the U.S. Honoring our war heroes. These days our war heroes have expanded beyond members of the [...]
As we wrap up the second full month of lockdown, we at GCP want to pay tribute to all of the many people who have been lost in this pandemic. Friends and family members who succumbed to the Covid-19 virus, as well as those lost to unrelated illnesses. Families and loved ones have been denied the ability to publicly [...]
We know this horrific story, we've heard it too many times before: On February 23rd, 2020, Ahmaud Arbery, a 25 year old Black man, was shot and killed by two white men as he jogged around his Georgia neighborhood. For almost three months, no charges were brought against the two men, a father and son who were known by [...]
There are glimmers of encouraging COVID-19 news these days: mortality rates falling, hospital admissions going down and releases going up, a drug showing promise at combatting the virus. In this spirit, today's Thoughtful Thursday offers poems of encouragement and hope. First, a favorite from Lucille Clifton (1936-2010), "Blessing the Boats", which holds the promise of a better day. "Instructions [...]