Def Poetry: The African American Experience

“Facing It” by the American black poet Yusef Komunyakaa of Shreveport is written with the use of visual images. Yusef Komunyakaa writes about one of his many trips to the Vietnam's Veteran's Memorial in Washington DC. This Memorial is a long polished slab of black reflectant granite with the names of all the US soldiers who lost their lives in Vietnam. Yusef says “my black face fades, hiding inside the black granite”. Here Yusef uses his reflection in the wall to bring the reader back to the war and how he feels standing at the wall now. He makes his feeling ambiguous and give the reader the opportuntity to decide what he is feeling through his use of viual images.

As Americans, we are privileged with diverse experiences. With this comes a perceived understanding of many cultures and their influences but in fact full cultural literacy is impossible to achieve.

In order to provide culturally appropriate care, an examination of one's personal views, beliefs, and prejudices must be examined. The first portion of this paper will examine my personal values, beliefs, biases, and prejudices. The remaining paper will analyze the African American culture relating to the Ginger and Davidhizar's Transcultural Assessment Model cited in Hood (2010). This model uses six key cultural elements that include communication, space, social organization, time, environment, and biological variations. This model provides a systematic approach for assessing culturally diverse clients. I will also discuss an aspect of care that I would

Nikki Giovanni's "Poem for Black Boys" is a poignant literary work that addresses several issues concerning the young black male in America and the conflicting views taken by members of the African-American community during the Civil Rights Movement with an inclination towards the peaceful movement perpetuated by the likes of Dr. Martin Luther king, Jr. and his non-violent contemporaries. Giovanni's use of allusion, imagery and the sardonic humor of the speaker blend effortlessly to denounce all of the negative connotation of the young African-American male and to sound the battle-cry to black male youths that while society-at-large may place them in a box, it is up to them to prove society wrong.

In a time when Africans were stolen from their native lands and brought through the middle passage to a land that claimed was a free country, a small African girl, who would later be known as Phillis Wheatley, was sold in Boston in 1761. In the speech, “The Miracle of Black Poetry in America”, written by June Jordan, a well respected black poet, professor and activist, wrote the speech in 1986, 200 years after Phillis walked the earth, to honor the legacy of the first black female poet for the people of the United States. Jordan, passionately alludes to the example of Phillis Wheatley’s life, to show the strength and perseverance of African-American people throughout difficult history and how they have overcome the impossible.

Maya Angelou is one of the most distinguished African American writers of the twentieth century. Writing is not her only forte she is a poet, director, composer, lyricist, dancer, singer, journalist, teacher, and lecturer (Angelou and Tate, 3). Angelou’s American Dream is articulated throughout her five part autobiographical novels; I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Gather Together in my Name, Singin’ and Swingin’ and Getting’ Merry Like Christmas, The Heart of a Woman, and All God’s Children Need Traveling Shoes. Maya Angelou’s American Dream changed throughout her life: in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Maya’s American dream was to fit into a predominantly white society in small town

taste, hear and touch. ' Does it dry up Like a raisin in the sun' this

For my project, I have many options that I am considering. Narrowing down will be difficult because each has its own important information that I believe should be shared. One idea that I came up with is to compare African American Vernacular English (AAVE) to American Standard English. For example, the origins, grammar rules, words, articulation, and etc. Not only will I compare them, but I will argue the legitimacy of AAVE with research. I’m not advocating for AAVE to overtake American Standard English, but I am supporting that AAVE should be looked at as an official language like Spanish and French and be treated as such. No one should feel like they are talking wrong nor should their language determine ones intelligences level, but in schools

The Harlem Renaissance was a wonderful allotment of advancement for the black poets and writers of the 1920s and early ‘30s. I see the Harlem Renaissance as a time where people gather together and express their work throughout the world for everyone to see the brilliance and talent the black descendants harness.

Our group chose the man known by many in the hip-hop world as Mos Def. He is known for being a superb lyricist, poet, and actor. We are doing two of his works named “Hip-Hop” from off his album Black on Both Sides and a poem he wrote regards to the Barclays Center named “On center.stadium.status”. Before I talk about these two works of art, let me give a brief background on Mos Def.

Robert Hayden claims that “art is not an escape but… a way of confronting life,” (Hayden). Robert Hayden, a modernist, favored the more abstract, unconventional, largely uncertain views brought on by the modern world. Modernists felt the "traditional" forms of art, architecture, literature, religious faith, social organization, and daily life were becoming outdated in the new economic, social, and political conditions of an emerging fully industrialized world. Hayden’s poetry was compelling to a large number of people because he claimed to be an American poet.

People in countries where a particular religion is entwined in the culture may brand their fellow citizens who adopt a different religion as traitors. Others outside that country may call them brainwashed. Wheatley was in this situation, and she tried to convince people that this wasn 't true. The poem "On Being Brought from Africa to America" illustrates this point.

After the performance, DeGeneres and Lamar had a conversation that was not hard to discern as scripted. DeGeneres points at Lamar and says, “It really is amazing that you’re from Compton, right?”, after bringing attention to the state of California’s recognition of Lamar as “a positive influence”. “Yeah,” he replies. “From Compton,” she reiterates. “You are…(proof)… that it’s possible to…more than possible, to get out, in a safe and sober way.” Lamar credits his parents, saying, “they put something in my heart to do something more than what I was raised around.” This conversation can be treated as a collaborative performance, as DeGeneres and Lamar are using their collective role of spectacle to manipulate an audience into shattering their two-dimensional view of Compton and its people. It is a step in the direction of America’s recognition of the violence that goes on in Compton, not as a disease that needs to be eradicated, but a wound that must be healed. In his song Ab-Soul’s Outro, Lamar raps, “We might not change the world, but we gon' manipulate it/I hope you participating…” The conversation will be shown on video as documentation of a performance, in one of the “rooms” created by temporary walls in Gallery 2, and an information panel in the room will suggest ways views can find out more about Kendrick Lamar and his current role in

Born Annie Bethel Scales Bannister on February 6, 1882 in Henry County Virginia. She was a descendent of black, white, and Seminole Indian Ancestry.

AFRICA’S PLEA Roland Tombekai Dempster I am not you – But you will not Give me a chance, Will not let me be me.   “If I were you” but you know I am not you,