Friday, August 21, 2020

Woke: a Young Poet's Call to Justice by Mahogany L. Browne with Elizabeth Acevedo and Olivia Gatwood; illustrated by Theodore Taylor, III.


What does it mean to be "woke'? The poet tells young people "Our voice / is our greatest power .... It happens everywhere / It is active / It is energy / It is resisting to be comfortable / When we all have yet to feel safe and free." Many poems tell individual stories and slices of family life. All of the poems are "tagged" with topics, including "activism," "ableism," "ally," "body positivity," "community," "empathy," "equality," "forgiveness," "freedom fighters," "gender," "immigration," "intersectionality," "individuality," "joy," "justice," "prejudice," "privilege," "protest," "resistance," "resourcefulness," "silencing," "stereotyping," "volunteering," "woke."


we are awake

wide in our understanding

of what is so pretty and shiny

of what is dull and dim

in this world


but look here 


even wider

between our outstretched arms

a brave and growing world


look closely


don't forget 

we invited you here

to live inside

this truth

this freedom


we never sleep on what's at stake



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