Rita Dove’s “Claudette Colvin Goes to Work” honors those anonymous actors in significant historical change.
Tag Archives: Civil Rights Movement
The Bus Boycott’s Invisible Actors
MLK’s Lesson for the Trump Era
MLK’s birthday coinciding with a white supremacist ascending to the presidency reminds us that MLK refused to give up in the face of such reversals.
An MLK Poem for Juneteenth
For Juneteenth, here’s a Margaret Walker poem honoring MLK’s Dream speech.
Morrison on the Death of Emmett Till
In “Song of Solomon,” Morrison has the men in the community grapple with what the death of Emmett Till means.
Tony Bennett, WWII, and Race Activism
Learning about late singer Tony Bennett’s life has opened up new insights into my father, also a World War II vet and civil rights activist.
Integration’s Child Pioneers
Black children in the early days of integration report intense bullying from peers. Ozeki describes such childhood cruelty in “Tale for the Time Being.”
His Word Still Burns the Center of the Sun
I recall the day I heard Martin Luther King speak and share a Gwendolyn Brooks poem.
The Significance of Warnock’s Election
Let we forget, a black senator was elected in Georgia last week. Woodson’s poem honors the Civil Rights movement that made it possible.

