By Leyli Izadpanah, Staff Writer
Black History month is a time to commemorate and celebrate Black and African American contributions to literature, culture, and history every year. In honor of this, Pellissippi State hosted its tenth annual multi-campus marathon celebration of literature by African American and Black authors this month.
Pellissippi staff, faculty, and students were invited to listen and those who signed up got to read a work of their choice. Because of the snow, the event was held on zoom; however, that didn’t stop us from celebrating these foundational works all day from 9am to around 6pm.
The event started off around 9 am with Richard Brown singing James Weldon Johnson’s “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” It was a perfect opening to the event, setting the stage for the works to come.
Professor Lorna Hollowell read her own work about her religious experience as a Black woman, “Prepare Me, O Lord.” She read with the most strength and emotion than anyone else I encountered; seemingly everyone was blown away by her writing and performance. She followed up with Maya Angelou’s “Phenomenal Woman”, a poem celebrating female self worth and acceptance. Angelou challenges the restrictive ideals of feminine beauty and defiantly identifies true beauty as something within oneself.
Along with having the opportunity to appreciate essential authors that have paved the way for modern literature, such as Langston Hughes, Marsha P. Johnson, and Martin Luther King Jr., I also discovered many authors that I really enjoyed listening to and hadn’t heard of before.
For example, the event coordinator, Professor Bernhardt, read “I Want to Not Have to Write Another Word About Who the Cops Keep Killing” by Khadija Queen. This poem was so powerful and impactful, I could feel every emotion Queen conveyed, from her love for her son to her grief resulting from police brutality.
Dr. Antija Allen’s reading of Amanda Gorman’s “At the Age of 18 – Ode to Girls of Color” was also a highlight; Gorman uses vivid imagery and flowery language to invite the reader into her discussion of her experience in America. As she reflects on her experiences and struggles as a young black girl, she highlights the beauty and power that people of color possess despite systemic challenges.
I had the honor of reading Langston Hughes’ “Let America Be America Again,” a beautiful poem discussing the racial inequity of the American dream for the working class, speaking on the disproportionate obstacles that people of color and immigrants face. As the daughter of an Iranian immigrant family, this poem spoke to me, showcasing the freedom and equality immigrants were promised, but never received. In reading this poem to everyone, I felt like a part of something bigger, connected to the poet, my family, and many others past and present, as well as all who participated in the event.
Despite the snow, the African American read-in event was very successful both in attendance and in its goal to reiterate the importance of reading African American and Black literature. It was a wonderful experience and I thoroughly enjoyed listening to everyone else’s picks and reading my own. By reading and celebrating Black authors, we can better understand the world around us and expose ourselves to new perspectives; these perspectives can help us minimize stereotypes, promote empathy, and have respect for other cultures.
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