Black Voices Matter

A Collaboration between the Wick Poetry Center, the Division of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and the Department of Pan-African Studies at Kent State University.

Model Poem

This is Not a Small Voice

by Sonia Sanchez
from Wounded in the House of a Friend
(Beacon Press)

This is not a small voice
you hear this is a large
voice coming out of these cities.
This is the voice of LaTanya.
Kadesha. Shaniqua. This
is the voice of Antoine.
Darryl. Shaquille.
Running over waters
navigating the hallways
of our schools spilling out
on the corners of our cities and
no epitaphs spill out of their river mouths.

This is not a small love
you hear this is a large
love, a passion for kissing learning
on its face.
This is a love that crowns the feet with hands
that nourishes, conceives, feels the water sails
mends the children,
folds them inside our history where they
toast more than the flesh
where they suck the bones of the alphabet
and spit out closed vowels.
This is a love colored with iron and lace.
This is a love initialed Black Genius.

This is not a small voice
you hear.

About

A community poem in support of racial justice at Kent State University and around the globe. As an expression of solidarity for the Black Lives Matter social movement against police brutality and racially motivated violence against black people, we invite people from around the world to contribute a line or stanza in response to poet and activist Sonia Sanchez’ poem, “This is Not a Small Voice.” You don’t need to have any previous writing experience to participate. Simply select one or more of the prompts below to share your voice.