BY JASON COHEN
When Amanda Gorman
read her poem “The Hill
We Climb,” at President Joe
Biden’s inauguration she became
a symbol of Black poets
who speak to the urgency and
center African American historical
perspectives.
An initiative is giving the
public an opportunity to learn
more about that tradition,
which stretches back some
250 years. And Lehman College’s
Leonard Lief Library
has taken a leading role in the
effort.
Titled, “Lift Every Voice:
Why African American Poetry
Matters,” is a yearlong,
nationwide project of the Library
of America and The
Schomburg Center for Research
in Black Culture. It engages
audiences in an exploration
of African American
poetry and its relationship
to American history, Black
Americans’ diverse experiences
and the struggle for racial
justice.
“Libraries are very focused
right now on making
sure they represent the communities
they serve and fi nding
ways to diversify their
collections so that people see
themselves and hear their
own voices,” said Leonard
Lief librarian Robert Farrell.
Lehman’s involvement
with Lift Every Voice began
in early 2020, when Farrell
contacted Ron Kavanaugh,
a past collaborator and the
founder of One Book One
Bronx and its parent organization
the Literary Freedom
Project, about applying for
one of the 50 Lift Every Voice
grants awarded to libraries,
museums and nonprofi t cultural
institutions to host public
programs.
“One of the things that
we’re committed to at the Literary
Freedom Project is developing
programs that engage
BRONX TIMES REPORTER,28 FEBRUARY 12-18, 2021 BTR
the community directly,”
Kavanaugh said. “When Robert
approached me, I immediately
started thinking in
the context of how this would
work with One Book One
Bronx, and how we could fi t
that in with what we do week
to week.”
Apart from the anthology’s
release event at the Schomburg
Center, Lehman is the only
venue in New York City that
was chosen to host Lift Every
Voice programming. Throughout
February, Leonard Lief
Library, in partnership with
One Book One Bronx, a community
book club and discussion
group, will co-sponsor a
series of events that call attention
to the achievements of
contemporary African-American,
Afro-Latinx and Afro-Caribbean
poets.
The two decided to focus on
Black language and music, a
core theme of Lift Every Voice,
using a conversation with the
poet Tyehimba Jess, who will
perform parts of his Pulitzer
Prize-winning book “Olio,” to
anchor the series. The book
weaves in sonnet, song and
narrative to examine African
American performers’ lives
before and after the Civil War
up to World War I. A reading
group will gather throughout
the month to discuss “Olio” in
anticipation of the event.
Among a wide range of discussions,
performances and
readings, the series, which is
also receiving support from
the CUNY Center for the Humanities
includes events with
Philadelphia Poet Laureate
Trapeta B. Mayson, Chicago
poet Tara Betts and the poetry
group The Last Poets.
“It’s an honor that we were
selected to do this,” Farrell
said of the series. “I’m just
over the moon with the quality
of programming that we’ve
been able to pull together.”
Although Farrell and Kavanaugh
would have preferred
in-person events, the virtual
format necessitated by the
pandemic has some upsides.
For one, it enabled them to expand
their audience and bring
in guests from across the country.
“You have to be committed
to the idea that there are people
out there that want to be connected
to books and literature
if they can just fi nd a place or
a space that refl ects who they
are,” Kavanaugh added.
For a schedule of events go
to onebookonebronx.com/lifteveryvoice.
Black Poetry Matters
and other Black History
Month celebrations at
Lehman College
Ron Kavanaugh, founder of One Book, One Bronx
Courtesy of Marcia Wilson/Widevision Photography
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MIA ESPINAL
LEONARDO ESPIINAL
A Child(ren) Under Eighteen Years Alleged to be Neglected by
ISABEL TEJEDA
RAY ESPINAL
Respondent(s)
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