Black History Month Poems

Published: February 2020

One of the celebrations that takes place during February is Black History Month. It’s a time to celebrate the accomplishments of African Americans. The world of poetry has been touched by these individuals. Poets like Langston Hughes and Maya Angelou have helped to encourage, influence, and change the world with their words.

25 Inspiring Poems To Celebrate Black History Month

Still I Rise
- By Maya Angelou
Famous Poem

Maya Angelou is one of the most celebrated American Poets of our time. Born in 1928, her life has spanned much of the African American struggle for racial equality. She was a confidant of Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. In this poem about African American Courage, Angelou embodies the power, courage and tenacity of the African American experience.

in Famous Inspirational Poems

You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may tread me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise.

You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may tread me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise.

Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
'Cause I walk like I've got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.

Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I'll rise.

Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops.
Weakened by my soulful cries.

Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don't you take it awful hard
'Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines
Diggin' in my own back yard.

You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I'll rise.

Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I've got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?

Out of the huts of history's shame
I rise
Up from a past that's rooted in pain
I rise
I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.
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Phenomenal Woman
- By Maya Angelou
Famous Poem

Maya Angelou is one of the most influential women of our time. Her writing pulls on the hearts of many readers. In addition to her proliferous writing career, Maya Angelou has been a civil rights activist. This poem shows how even though someone is not beautiful on the outside compared to society's standards, there is an inner beauty that makes a woman even more beautiful.

in Famous Inspirational Poems

Analysis of Form and Technique

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.
I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size
But when I start to tell them,
They think I'm telling lies.

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.
I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size
But when I start to tell them,
They think I'm telling lies.
I say,
It's in the reach of my arms
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please,
And to a man,
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees.
Then they swarm around me,
A hive of honey bees.
I say,
It's the fire in my eyes,
And the flash of my teeth,
The swing in my waist,
And the joy in my feet.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me.
They try so much
But they can't touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them
They say they still can't see.
I say,
It's in the arch of my back,
The sun of my smile,
The ride of my breasts,
The grace of my style.
I'm a woman

Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

Now you understand
Just why my head's not bowed.
I don't shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud.
When you see me passing
It ought to make you proud.
I say,
It's in the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
the palm of my hand,
The need of my care,
'Cause I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.
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Phenomenal Woman By Maya Angelou this poem is a Classic that deals with every women in the world. This poem shows that beauty is compare by what society thinks a woman should looked like,...

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Dreams
- By Langston Hughes
Famous Poem

Langston Hughes was an American poet who became famous for his work during the Harlem Renaissance. He was the first African American to support himself as a writer. In this poem, Langston Hughes shares the importance of having dreams. Without dreams, our lives do not feel complete. We do not have anything to work toward, so holding onto the dreams strengthens and empowers us. In this short poem, he pulls the reader’s attention to this theme by using the repetition of the phrase, “Hold fast to dreams.” Dreams is written in Quatrains (4 line stanzas) and follows the ABCB rhyme scheme.

in Famous Inspirational Poems

Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.

Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.

Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.
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I so get it. Dreams are hope to a lot of us. I've heard it said that before you get it you have to dream it. I think when we stop dreaming we stop reaching, and when we stop reaching we stop...

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Human Family
- By Maya Angelou
Famous Poem

In this beautiful and powerful poem, Maya Angelou, teaches us that we are all people, and so much more alike than different. Imagine the change we would see in the world if we all lived this simple truth!

in Famous Inspirational Poems

I note the obvious differences
in the human family.
Some of us are serious,
some thrive on comedy.

I note the obvious differences
in the human family.
Some of us are serious,
some thrive on comedy.

Some declare their lives are lived
as true profundity,
and others claim they really live
the real reality.

The variety of our skin tones
can confuse, bemuse, delight,
brown and pink and beige and purple,
tan and blue and white.

I've sailed upon the seven seas
and stopped in every land,
I've seen the wonders of the world
not yet one common man.

I know ten thousand women
called Jane and Mary Jane,
but I've not seen any two
who really were the same.

Mirror twins are different
although their features jibe,
and lovers think quite different thoughts
while lying side by side.

We love and lose in China,
we weep on England's moors,
and laugh and moan in Guinea,
and thrive on Spanish shores.

We seek success in Finland,
are born and die in Maine.
In minor ways we differ,
in major we're the same.

I note the obvious differences
between each sort and type,
but we are more alike, my friends,
than we are unalike.

We are more alike, my friends,
than we are unalike.

We are more alike, my friends,
than we are unalike.
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Mother To Son
- By Langston Hughes
Famous Poem

Langston Hughes was a prominent writer during the Harlem Renaissance. In this poem, a mother uses the metaphor of life being like a staircase to give advice to her son. While there are difficult times, you must keep moving like you would while walking up a staircase.

in Famous Family Poems

Well, son, I'll tell you:
Life for me ain't been no crystal stair.
It's had tacks in it,
And splinters,

Well, son, I'll tell you:
Life for me ain't been no crystal stair.
It's had tacks in it,
And splinters,
And boards torn up,
And places with no carpet on the floor-
Bare.
But all the time
I'se been a-climbin' on,
And reachin' landin's,
And turnin' corners,
And sometimes goin' in the dark
Where there ain't been no light.
So, boy, don't you turn back.
Don't you set down on the steps.
'Cause you finds it's kinder hard.
Don't you fall now-
For I'se still goin', honey,
I'se still climbin',
And life for me ain't been no crystal stair.
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I was not a very good student when I was in school. I did the minimal amount of work required, retained little and barely paid attention. In 1965, my 8th grade English teacher read MOTHER TO...

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Life Doesn't Frighten Me
- By Maya Angelou
Famous Poem

Maya Angelou, an inspirational American poet, crafted a poem from a child’s perspective about all the frightening things in her world. Although this poem showcases many things that frighten a child, the greater theme in this poem is that no matter the obstacles we face in life, we can overcome them. The repetition of “life doesn’t frighten me at all” reinforces that theme.

in Famous Children Poems

Shadows on the wall
Noises down the hall
Life doesn't frighten me at all

Shadows on the wall
Noises down the hall
Life doesn't frighten me at all

Bad dogs barking loud
Big ghosts in a cloud
Life doesn't frighten me at all

Mean old Mother Goose
Lions on the loose
They don't frighten me at all

Dragons breathing flame
On my counterpane
That doesn't frighten me at all.

I go boo
Make them shoo
I make fun
Way they run
I won't cry
So they fly
I just smile
They go wild

Life doesn't frighten me at all.

Tough guys fight
All alone at night
Life doesn't frighten me at all.

Panthers in the park
Strangers in the dark
No, they don't frighten me at all.

That new classroom where
Boys all pull my hair
(Kissy little girls
With their hair in curls)
They don't frighten me at all.

Don't show me frogs and snakes
And listen for my scream,
If I'm afraid at all
It's only in my dreams.

I've got a magic charm
That I keep up my sleeve
I can walk the ocean floor
And never have to breathe.

Life doesn't frighten me at all
Not at all
Not at all.

Life doesn't frighten me at all.
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I think this is a really good poem because it teaches kids not to give up and hide in the shadows and actually express themselves.

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Caged Bird
- By Maya Angelou
Famous Poem

Caged Bird By Maya Angelou was first published in her book, "Shaker, Why Don't You Sing?" in 1983. The poem is a Metaphor illustrating the differences between African-Americans and Whites during the civil rights era. The author, a black woman who grew up in the South during this era, is expressing her feelings at the discrimination she faced during her life. Her first autobiography published in 1970 is titled, "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings"

in Famous Inspirational Poems

Analysis of Form and Technique

The free bird leaps
on the back of the wind
and floats downstream
till the current ends

The free bird leaps
on the back of the wind
and floats downstream
till the current ends
and dips his wings
in the orange sun rays
and dares to claim the sky.

But a bird that stalks
down his narrow cage
can seldom see through
his bars of rage
his wings are clipped and
his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing.

The caged bird sings
with fearful trill
of the things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill for the caged bird
sings of freedom

The free bird thinks of another breeze
and the trade winds soft through the sighing trees
and the fat worms waiting on a dawn-bright lawn
and he names the sky his own.

But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams
his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream
his wings are clipped and his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing

The caged bird sings
with a fearful trill
of things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom.
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I remember this poem from my guided reading class in 5th grade. I remember it well. This poem really touched me, and reading it again just made my day. This poem, I remember it being about...

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Rose Painted
- By Paige
- Published by Family Friend Poems June 2015 with permission of the Author.
This poem was inspired by the movie The Help. The main idea of the poem is how people look at people's skin color and judge them.

Poem About Skin Color

in Metaphor Poems

If I were a Rose painted black,
would you cast me aside
like blackened, burnt rice?
Would my color tarnish my sweet smell?

If I were a Rose painted black,
would you cast me aside
like blackened, burnt rice?
Would my color tarnish my sweet smell?

If I were a Rose painted black,
would the richness of my ebony petals
make me unworthy
of being called
a Rose?

If I were a Rose painted white,
would my ivory petals be worth more than silver?
Would my sweet smell captivate
a room welcomingly?

If I were just a Rose,
sweet-smelling and vibrant
and your mind was blind...
would my color matter?
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This was a very true poem! I love the meaning, and it really brings out the idea of discrimination by color and how bad it is. I love it!

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Mother
- By Mitchell M. Gissendanner
- Published by Family Friend Poems August 2006 with permission of the Author.
The strength of a mother is as the power of thousands who stand behind her.

Powerful Woman Poem

in Mother Poems

Black, beautiful, intuitive, and strong,
The matriarch, the stabilizer, the Earth's backbone.
From the beginning she excels, determined to survive.
In her womb the seed of trillions through the ages she will provide.

Black, beautiful, intuitive, and strong,
The matriarch, the stabilizer, the Earth's backbone.
From the beginning she excels, determined to survive.
In her womb the seed of trillions through the ages she will provide.
Unfazed by obstacles, perpetual is her drive.
Kings, queens, all royalty alike
are inherently in her bloodline.
Against all odds she presses on.
Not a moment does her love wane.
She looks down through the annals of time
And realizes she must maintain
Her aura of invincibility, her spirit of strong will,
Her disposition of I will succeed
Regardless of the mountainous hills.
She is black, bold and beautiful.
Her strength personified from birth,
She is the matriarch, she is our mother,
the backbone of the earth
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Great-Grandmother, A Beautiful Woman
- By Jacquia Lindsay
- Published by Family Friend Poems April 2006 with permission of the Author.
A poem written in tribute to a great and noble woman: a great-grandmother who has seen and suffered much and is full of love and strength.

Tribute Poem To A Great Grandmother

in Grandmother Poems

Strong, beautiful black woman, so peaceful and serene,
You deserve to live in Paradise and shown the finer things.
Life has dealt you plenty of cards, some winning, others bad,
And tides have brought in waves of memories: both happy and sad.

Strong, beautiful black woman, so peaceful and serene,
You deserve to live in Paradise and shown the finer things.
Life has dealt you plenty of cards, some winning, others bad,
And tides have brought in waves of memories: both happy and sad.
Gracious, beautiful black woman, so wonderful and divine,
You've endured many heartaches - oh, the world is so unkind!
Your speech is confident, your eyes are soft, and your walk is hard and bold.
Your laugh equals happiness, your heart contains love and hides the stories untold.
Tired, beautiful black woman, so patient and so calm,
It's funny how you hold the family's fear within your palm!
With wrinkles, stress, and worn-torn hands, tell me how do you smile so...
When you've traveled this long, endured all this pain, and still have miles to go.
Blessed, beautiful black woman, so collected and confident,
I can't imagine a gift greater than you - your love is heaven sent.
Don't you dare give up now, just stay strong, your reward is comin'...
Strong, courageous, gracious, blessed, and beautiful black woman.
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I hope you don't mind that I shared this poem with a Great Grandmother in our church, she has custody of her two great grandchildren, one of them is 8 and the other is just born 3 months...

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Black Is Beautiful
- By Sharon D. Brown-Rogers
- Published by Family Friend Poems November 2006 with permission of the Author.
A woman expresses her love for the color of her skin.

Poem About Self-Worth

in Compassion Poems

Black is
Black is as beautiful as a bed of milky white clouds.
Black is as beautiful as soft as a newborn baby hair.
Black is as beautiful as standing up for what is right.

Black is
Black is as beautiful as a bed of milky white clouds.
Black is as beautiful as soft as a newborn baby hair.
Black is as beautiful as standing up for what is right.
Black is as beautiful as trying on grandmother's classy hats.
Black is as beautiful as you and I saying Hi!
Black is as beautiful as two sisters walking hand in hand.
Black is as beautiful as wading in a pond on a hot summer day.
Black is as beautiful as you holding your baby for the very first time.
Black is as beautiful as saying I miss you.
Black is as beautiful as going fishing with your dad.
Black is as beautiful as calling your mother on her birthday.
Black is as beautiful as two brothers playing basketball.
Black is as beautiful as braiding your sister's hair.
Black is as beautiful as grandpa taking you to the park.
Black is as beautiful as the sweet sound of a saxophone playing.
Black is as beautiful as eating mom's never fail caramel cake.
Black is as beautiful as the bright rising sun.
Black is as beautiful as a simple kiss placed on the forehead.
Black is as beautiful as lilies on Easter morning.
Black is as beautiful as saying I love you.
Black is me and I AM BEAUTIFUL.
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It really touched me and I am going to use it to motivate and encourage others. Some of our black brothers and sisters hate themselves because they are black.

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Still Here
- By Langston Hughes
Famous Poem

Langston Hughes (1902-1967) had a lonely childhood, but he was raised by his grandmother who had a love of literature, so Hughes turned to books during those lonely years. This poem shows that even through the hardships of life, it’s possible to keep pushing forward. In this poem, Langston Hughes does not follow the rules of grammar, but that adds to the frazzled feel of the poem’s content.

in Famous Inspirational Poems

I been scarred and battered.
My hopes the wind done scattered.
Snow has friz me,
Sun has baked me,

I been scarred and battered.
My hopes the wind done scattered.
Snow has friz me,
Sun has baked me,

Looks like between 'em they done
Tried to make me

Stop laughin', stop lovin', stop livin'--
But I don't care!
I'm still here!
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This poem was in a textbook of mine from the sixth grade. As a child, it resonated with me. It inspired me to write poetry. As a child, educated by white folk, I had no idea who Langston...

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Equality
- By Maya Angelou
Famous Poem

Racism and discrimination continue to plague our society, and those themes are clearly seen in this poem by famous poet Maya Angelou. She was not only an author and poet. Maya Angelou was also a civil rights activist. In this poem, she encourages people to keep moving forward. Don’t give up the fight for equality. The repetition of “Equality, and I will be free,” draws the reader’s attention to this poem's important and emotional message.

in Famous Inspirational Poems

You declare you see me dimly
through a glass which will not shine,
though I stand before you boldly,
trim in rank and marking time.

You declare you see me dimly
through a glass which will not shine,
though I stand before you boldly,
trim in rank and marking time.
You do own to hear me faintly
as a whisper out of range,
while my drums beat out the message
and the rhythms never change.

Equality, and I will be free.
Equality, and I will be free.

You announce my ways are wanton,
that I fly from man to man,
but if I'm just a shadow to you,
could you ever understand?

We have lived a painful history,
we know the shameful past,
but I keep on marching forward,
and you keep on coming last.

Equality, and I will be free.
Equality, and I will be free.

Take the blinders from your vision,
take the padding from your ears,
and confess you've heard me crying,
and admit you've seen my tears.

Hear the tempo so compelling,
hear the blood throb in my veins.
Yes, my drums are beating nightly,
and the rhythms never change.

Equality, and I will be free.
Equality, and I will be free.
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Truely inspirational poem. This is the cry of present time that it is the 21st century and people are still struggling for equality, which is far from reach for many.

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Life Is Fine
- By Langston Hughes
Famous Poem

In this poem, the speaker is considering giving up on life, but he can’t go through with it. He finds that since he hasn’t died, he has something to live for. This poem has a strong sense of structure. It’s made up of single lines and quatrains with the ABCB rhyme scheme.

in Famous Poems

I went down to the river,
I set down on the bank.
I tried to think but couldn't,
So I jumped in and sank.

I went down to the river,
I set down on the bank.
I tried to think but couldn't,
So I jumped in and sank.

I came up once and hollered!
I came up twice and cried!
If that water hadn't a-been so cold
I might've sunk and died.

But it was Cold in that water! It was cold!

I took the elevator
Sixteen floors above the ground.
I thought about my baby
And thought I would jump down.

I stood there and I hollered!
I stood there and I cried!
If it hadn't a-been so high
I might've jumped and died.

But it was High up there! It was high!

So since I'm still here livin',
I guess I will live on.
I could've died for love—
But for livin' I was born

Though you may hear me holler,
And you may see me cry—
I'll be dogged, sweet baby,
If you gonna see me die.

Life is fine! Fine as wine! Life is fine!
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Everyone is born for a purpose, but we forget that in pursuit of money. Then God gifted me with poetry and uses it as a medium to educate people, and in each of my poems there is a story...

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Homage To My Hips
- By Lucille Clifton
Famous Poem

Lucille Clifton was an American poet who lived from 1936-2010. Her poetry celebrates her African American heritage and usually includes feminist themes, which can be seen in this poem. In "Homage to My Hips," she shows she is proud of who she is. She won’t conform to expectations or be held back. That can even be seen in how she chooses not to capitalize the first letter of a new line.

in Famous Inspirational Poems

these hips are big hips
they need space to
move around in.
they don't fit into little

these hips are big hips
they need space to
move around in.
they don't fit into little
petty places. these hips
are free hips.
they don't like to be held back.
these hips have never been enslaved,
they go where they want to go
they do what they want to do.
these hips are mighty hips.
these hips are magic hips.
i have known them
to put a spell on a man and
spin him like a top!
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Work what you've got and be proud of it. Someone else probably wishes they had what you've got.

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Harlem
- By Langston Hughes
Famous Poem

We all dream of what we want to experience in life, but what happens when those dreams are put on hold or ignored? That’s what Langston Hughes attempts to answer in this poem. None of the possibilities are positive, making the reader realize the importance of pursuing dreams. Langston Hughes was a key contributor during the Harlem Renaissance in the 1920s. He wrote many poems about what life was like for African Americans.

in Famous Poems

What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?

What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore—
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over—
like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.

Or does it explode?
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A wonderful poem by Langston Hughes, some dreams drift off with the morning mist, others come through if one persists..... A dream differed is a dream put on hold until the time comes for...

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Miss Rosie
- By Lucille Clifton
Famous Poem

Lucille Clifton was an American poet who lived from 1936-2010. Many of her poems show a theme of having strength through adversity. In this poem, a passerby finds Miss Rosie along the street, and she hurls insult after insult at the homeless lady. But this old lady used to be the most beautiful lady in all of Georgia. The last line of the poem changes the tone that was used at the beginning.

in Famous Sad Poems

when I watch you
wrapped up like garbage
sitting, surrounded by the smell
of too old potato peels

when I watch you
wrapped up like garbage
sitting, surrounded by the smell
of too old potato peels
or
when I watch you
in your old man's shoes
with the little toe cut out
sitting, waiting for your mind
like next week's grocery
I say
when I watch you
you wet brown bag of a woman
who used to be the best looking gal in Georgia
used to be called the Georgia Rose
I stand up
through your destruction
I stand up
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Peace To Me
- By Esther Ayisire
- Published by Family Friend Poems April 2015 with permission of the Author.
Growing up as a young black girl, even in this day and age, is hard. You easily get judged or criticized because of the colour of your skin. Or maybe because of your accent. It gets so bad that even people of a mature age, who should know better, end up calling us coloured children or insulting the type of hair we have.
This poem isn't only for black people; it's for everyone and anyone. I hope this poem speaks to you as it did when I wrote it. Let us have a change of heart. God Bless!

Poem Dreaming For A World Without Racism

in Dream Poems

When I think of peace, I see myself in a world where I can truly be myself,
Who I choose to be, where I can just let go and be comfortable with who I am

A world with no hatred, racism, or pain

When I think of peace, I see myself in a world where I can truly be myself,
Who I choose to be, where I can just let go and be comfortable with who I am

A world with no hatred, racism, or pain
A world where no one is judged or criticized
A place with equality and value of people's lives
A time of joy and togetherness, where no one is thought as of good or evil

Where creed or colour is not looked at as right or wrong, good, or bad
Where no one is offensive, cruel, or rude
A place that makes it possible to stay in a good mood

When I think of peace, I see a gentle wave lapping up a beach
The smile shared between a mother and her child
The silence of peace and quiet, the lack of hatred, war, and riots

One day nations will come together and be as one
Just as the Lord wanted it to be
We are all one people
Put together in one world

When I think of peace, I see a better world...for all of us
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Preach preacher, preach. As an African American girl, I say this: We want peace! We want peace! We want peace!

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Victim Of Poverty
- By Tommy B
- Published by Family Friend Poems January 2009 with permission of the Author.
This is a look into what goes on in the mind of someone who is stuck in the hood and how they fall into a rut that feels impossible to get out of.

From Dreams To Drugs Poem: A Journey Through Poverty

in Poems about Sadness

Poverty stricken youth jus trying to make a buck
mom working two jobs and pops don't give a f**k

daddy never comes around

Poverty stricken youth jus trying to make a buck
mom working two jobs and pops don't give a f**k

daddy never comes around
at night the only sound

that can be heard are the sounds of the ghetto
drug dealing, gang banging the sirens of the po po

he finds himself posted on the corner slangin dope
to him it seems like the only hope

to finally get off the block or stay at a dead end job with no raise
so on the corner he stays

high school dropout with no time for class
time at a desk could be spent in the spot making cash

scarface dreams are clouding up his mind
cocaine sales taking up his time

greed has polluted his brain, spirit, and soul
hatred and a heart as black as coal

have takin over him what is he to do
no one gives him an answer looking for a clue

looking to the sky for some kind of sign
all he can see is a life full of crime

until the day the cops get him or his enemies catch him in the wrong hood
wearin the wrong colors, throwin up the wrong signs if he could

change things he'd do anything for a second chance
times up he has a dance

with the devil that's going to last an eternity
another soul lost, but others see it as another victim of poverty.
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I Heard The Voices Scream
- By Keisha Swafford
- Published by Family Friend Poems March 2012 with permission of the Author.
When you read this, dont judge. Just let it sink in your hearts and realize black people aren't just a color. We are so much more than that: We are strong, beautiful, courageous, intelligent, and enduring people. The word "nigger" doesn't define us unless we let it. This is the story of long ago when black people werent treated as equals. As an African American woman, I feel things have gotten better, but I believe Martin Luther King's dream has not been fully fulfilled. Read this and learn from the past so we can make a better future for everyone. God bless and much love Keisha.
Poem about the Civil Rights Movement By Keisha Swafford and Ronnie Doe

Civil Rights Movement And Racism Poem

in Change Poems

I heard the voices scream
“Nigger, best shut your mouth.”
When prejudice ran wild
While hatred ruled the south

I heard the voices scream
“Nigger, best shut your mouth.”
When prejudice ran wild
While hatred ruled the south

I heard the voices scream
“Nigger, back of the bus.”
Never knew why whites thought
They were better than us

I heard the voices scream
“Nigger’s setting off sparks.”
When they saw the courage
Of the great Rosa Parks

I heard the voices scream
“Niggers can’t go on strike.”
But instead of the bus
To our jobs we would hike

I heard the voices scream
“We black folks have our pride.”
As we walked hand in hand
And stood there side by side

I heard “I have a Dream.”
By Martin Luther King,
“If we stick with this thing
The voices will not scream.”

Heard, “Thank God Almighty,"
And “I am Free at Last."
Prejudice and hatred
Would now live in the past

I heard people singing
Songs full of love and peace
I heard people praying
For racism to cease

I heard the voices scream
“Nigger, pick my cotton
Color girl wash my floors”
Words won’t be forgotten

I heard the voices scream
“White man’s out and about.”
I heard, “I Have a Dream"
Just as the shots rang out

I heard the teardrops fall
I heard God's Angels sing
I heard the black man say,
“They murdered Doctor King.”

I heard the voices scream
“Revenge is what we seek.”
And not, “I Have a Dream
Someday our race will peak.”

I heard the voices scream
“We must stick together
Carry out Martin's dream
If it takes forever.”

I heard the voices scream
“We’ve won our Civil Rights.”
The words, “I Have a Dream
We’re equal to the whites.”

I heard the voices scream
“Racism’s here to stay
But thank God it isn’t
As bad as yesterday.”

I heard the voices scream,
“Nigger, back of the bus.”
Never knew why whites thought
They were better than us

I heard my own voice scream
When my sweet Momma died
Leaving her legacy
Her honor and her pride

I heard, “I think I'll sit
I'm tired and it's dark"
Were said by my Momma
Whose name was Rosa Parks
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Black History Month Poems

25 Inspiring Poems To Celebrate Black History Month

In this beautiful and powerful poem, Maya Angelou, teaches us that we are all people, and so much more alike than different. Imagine the change we would see in the world if we all lived this simple truth!

Langston Hughes was a prominent writer during the Harlem Renaissance. In this poem, a mother uses the metaphor of life being like a staircase to give advice to her son. While there are difficult times, you must keep moving like you would while walking up a staircase.

This poem was inspired by the movie The Help. The main idea of the poem is how people look at people's skin color and judge them.

The strength of a mother is as the power of thousands who stand behind her.

A poem written in tribute to a great and noble woman: a great-grandmother who has seen and suffered much and is full of love and strength.

A woman expresses her love for the color of her skin.

In this poem, the speaker is considering giving up on life, but he can’t go through with it. He finds that since he hasn’t died, he has something to live for. This poem has a strong sense of structure. It’s made up of single lines and quatrains with the ABCB rhyme scheme.

This is a look into what goes on in the mind of someone who is stuck in the hood and how they fall into a rut that feels impossible to get out of.