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Posts Tagged ‘Dr. Martin Luther King’

SOLC Day 3: Let Us March

Posted in Teaching, Writing, tagged , , , on March 3, 2026| 6 Comments »

Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating an amazing community of writers and a safe, welcoming space to write and share.

On Friday, I taught a writing workshop around my book Were You There? A Biography of Emma Wakefield Paillet. (Click the link to find out more about the book.) I had sent out a few feelers with people I knew to get gigs around Black History Month. I was excited and a little daunted to teach a senior AP class at Ascension High School. But the kids were great! They were engaged from the start and had limited experience with poetry.

The found poem form is a wonderful form to use with students new to poetry. They have the words in front of them. It takes some higher level thinking to synthesize the words into a new text, a poem.

We were using the text of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s speech at Selma at the conclusion of the Selma to Montgomery march in 1965. Four of the students shared their poems with me.

Untitled
by Martha O.

Our divided masses began awakening,
began uniting

to meet this threat, to follow the roots

today the state of the American dream will be transformed

Let us march
Let us march
Let us march on in honor, in struggle
and in faith

Transform dark yesterdays into
bright tomorrows

As I Stood on a Stage

By Rorie W.

As I stood on a stage,
all I can see is people.
Blacks and whites,
some young, some old.
Some shoot me angry glares with snarling lips,
some look as if I hold their fate in my hands.

As I look out into the mass,
I am filled with emotions plenty.
Fear and anger, but most importantly hope.

I hope for the day of unity, the day of peace
so, when I stand on the stage,
I don’t see only Black, only white,

All I can see is people. 

The Right to Vote
By Luke H.

They revised the doctrine of white supremacy
laws of the South made it a crime to come together as equals.
That’s what happened when the South threatened to unite.
We are on the move now.
Ghettos?
Let us march!
Social and economic depression?
Let us marchLet!
Ballot boxes?
Let us march!
Until brotherhood becomes more than a meaningless word.
Let us march!

Let Us March
by Cameron A.

I want to tell the city of Selma
We are on the move now
Let us continue our triumphant march
to the realization of the American dream.

Let us march on segregated housing.
Let us march on poverty.
Let us march on ballot boxes.

We are still in for a season of suffering
in many counties of Alabama,
many areas of Mississippi,
many areas of Louisiana.

We must come to see that the end we seek
is a society at peace with itself.

That will be the day of man as man.

Please leave a comment to encourage these students.

Gator mascot greeted me at the entrance to the school. Yikes!

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Poetry Friday: Found Poetry from MLK, Jr’s How Long? Not Long Speech

Posted in Poetry Friday, Teaching, Writing, tagged , , on January 23, 2026| 16 Comments »

Poetry Friday is gathered today by Tabatha Yeats at The Opposite of Indifference.

Last week I had the privilege of leading a writing workshop for a class of ninth grade girls at the Academy of Sacred Heart in Grand Coteau, Louisiana. The school is located near a pasture of horses and grove of live oaks trees. The drive itself felt sacred even though I was nervous. I have years of experience teaching elementary kids, high school is a horse of a different color. But once I got started and looked into the sweet, kind, and welcoming faces of these girls and their teacher, I felt relaxed and calm.

Using my book Were You There? A Biography of Emma Wakefield Paillet, I told portions of Emma’s story and presented a few poems. We discussed poetic elements.

I felt like found poetry would be an accessible form to share because it is less intimidating than a blank page. What was so exciting for me was each girl wrote a unique poem with a different voice even though the text was the same.

It was Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday, so I pulled a speech that was not as well known as the “I Have a Dream” speech. We read “How Long? Not Long” from the end of the Selma march.

Today I am sharing four of the students’ poems that they gave me permission to publish.

We Will See
by Alana

We will see
We the free-loving people
will one day see the victory
rested over their dead bodies
and where is our dignity?
where is our humanity?
when will we see?
how long?
not long
we will one day see
that will be the day of man as man
and we will all be free
We will see








Electrify our hearts for the understanding of friendship
by Zelie

When the powerful understanding 
of friendship itself comes into our lives,
and the universe wants to see us
wounded,
When society fears to live in the truth
of the dim unknown,
and when we may no longer have that passionate star that shines before us,
Let us become electrified by the majestic
face of friendship
and the confrontation of good 
and evil.
Face the danger.
Look it in the eye
and keep marching on because,
though we are tired,
our souls and hearts are rested.


We Have Walked
by Anna 

We have walked
through desolate valleys
across trying hills.

We have walked
on meandering highways
and on rocky byways.

We have walked.

“Well, aren’t you tired?”

We have walked
and our feet are tired.

We have walked 
but our souls are rested.

We have walked. 

Man as Man
by Kaylyn

My dear friends,
who have assembled here
from all over the world,

our bodies are tired

but as I stand before you
we can say,
our feet are tired,
but our souls are rested.

They told us we wouldn’t get here.

Out of this struggle,
a new idea,
more powerful than guns
was born.

It witnessed the whole community of Negroes
facing terror
and heroic courage
but, without the vote,
it was dignity
without strength.

Every race
good
and evil
generated the massive power
to turn the whole nation
to a new course.

We must come to see
not of the white man,
not of the black man,

man
as
man.











Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Getty images

					
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