Be the Light in Celebration of Black History Month Celebrating Black History Month While there is still so much to be done to address racial injustices in our world, these inspiring words from three Black poets, from Canada and the U.S., provide important reminders to help guide our actions.El Jones, a longtime BIPOC advocate who was Halifax’s Poet Laureate from 2013 to 2015 and is currently Writer-in-Residence at the University of Toronto, says: “Activism is 90% listening.” In this excerpt from The Hill We Climb, Amanda Gorman, the first-ever National Youth Poet Laureate and the youngest inaugural poet in U.S. history, encourages us to be the light of change: When day comes we step out of the shade, aflame and unafraid The new dawn blooms as we free it For there is always light, Maya Angelou, who, at the time of Bill Clinton’s presidential inauguration in 1993, was the first-ever inaugural poet to be female and African American, is known to have said: We would also like to share POGO’s statement regarding systemic racism and equity. It can also be found on our website.
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