Consider African American Poetry Resources for Black History Month Presentations Available Online through NC Live

By: Amber Covington  Rowan Public Library

February is a month dedicated to celebrating African American History and is most notably known as Black History Month. As a child, I always enjoyed learning history. My mother is deeply involved in assisting youth to find a voice in this world and she always encouraged our youth group to participate in the annual Black History events in the community. Usually during the month of February, I would spend several days researching special people that made an impact on Earth and found some truly inspiring individuals that have made a huge impact on my life.

This was the beginning of me learning to use my local public library and home library to gather information to create a short presentation to share with others during our special Black History events in my hometown. One of my first experiences was reciting poetry written by the infamous leader of the Harlem Renaissance, Langston Hughes. “Dressed Up” by Langston Hughes is a poem that details the simple task of having clothes cleaned to go with a new hat and shoes. However, the mental state of the person in the poem did not change. Hughes is known for his published works sharing the story of the everyday life situations of African Americans that lived during his time period. This poem landed me in second place for our local 4H talent show and afforded me the opportunity to speak for the first time ever in front of a large crowd of people I did not know.

Consider sharing poetry with others by presenting a poem to an audience or reading for pleasure this February. My childhood recitation of “Dressed Up” will always remind me of my beginnings of learning about my culture through others that lived before me. Many other African American poems are available online through NC Live at no cost to library card holders.

For your research needs or pleasure reading, check out two databases called “African American Poetry” and “Twentieth-Century African American Poetry.” These resources provide descriptions and a direct link to the poetry of African American poets published from 1760 to present day.“African American Poetry” contains about 3,000 poems from writers that lived in the North and South, rural and urban backgrounds, and a wide-range of educational backgrounds. It includes the works of Phillis Wheatley, James Monroe Whitfield, Paul Laurence Dunbar, George Moses Horton, Jupiter Hammon, and many others. “Twentieth-Century African American Poetry” shares almost 9,000 poems by 62 notable poets including Langston Hughes, James Weldon Johnson, Jean Toomer, Imamu Amiri Baraka, Audre Lorde, and Rita Dove. Check out these databases at NC Live by visiting www.nclive.org and search for “African American Poetry” and “Twentieth-Century African American Poetry.”