In light of racial & social justice issues that have occurred in Sanford, Florida, Ferguson, Missouri, Baltimore, Maryland & elsewhere, poetry of witness continues to thrive under heated political & social climates involving young people as reactions & activism reach public presentation. By examining & discussing poems of witness, past and present, through writing exercises and hands-on activities we can learn to broaden our discussion with youth & further consider developing tolerance & positive activism within the classroom & beyond. Participants will receive a full packet with poem copies, lesson plans, & articles.

Poems for Discussion:

• The Colonel by Carolyn Forche (1981) 
• Otherness by Tony Brown (2015) 
• Still I Rise by Maya Angelou (1978)
• Accountability by Paul Laurence Dunbar 
• Political Poem (for Basil) by Amiri Baraka (1995)