Refusing silence: Black poets protest and mourn in verse

"I am a black poet who will not remain silent while this nation murders black people. I have a right to be angry."

Hundreds of black poets across the U.S. have read these words in videos, written them in blog posts and recorded them on audio before they showcase a poem to assert that black lives matter.

The movement, called Black Poets Speak Out, is a response to the Aug. 9 killing of unarmed 18-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and the St. Louis County grand jury's decision not to indict Darren Wilson, the police officer who shot him. It has since grown to respond to the killings of Eric Garner in Staten Island, Tamir Rice in Cleveland, and many others before and after them. It's part of a larger swell of poetry used as protest, solidarity and mourning across the country. Read more...

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