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Miss Nene Mokonchu 1st Prize Winner POEM- 3/5THS
MEET OUR JUNETEETH POETRY CONTEST WINNERS.
The poetry presented during our program and here are the sole possession of the poets, selected as contest winners. Our winners were awarded cash prizes, certificates of recognition, NAACP Juneteenth T-Shirts and gifted Youth Memberships to the West Chester branch of the NAACP.
Christionna Jones Poem - PRIDE
Christionna Jones Poem - PRIDE
Miss Nene Mokonchu - 1st Prize Winner
3/5ths
From the motherland to the land of the free on which I stand Eager to reap the fruits Of this so called promise land. With youth on my belt And opportunity at my side Fulfillment seems infinite-
Yes, it hardly plagues my mind That the pigment of my skin Black, ebony Carries the weight of 400 years Forever considered the American enemy.
The weight that keeps me home on Friday nights While that youth fades to grey A weight that causes some to look And quickly turn their bigoted eyes away The weight that transformed a skittle pack into a gun Murdered a jogger with no absolution A weight that turned a twenty dollar bill Into a public execution A weight that captivates the majority Who prefers prejudice over knowledge A weight that has me staying away from regions To ensure my safety at college.
A weight that endured acid-filled pools Trauma-inducing jokes A weight that raced inside before sundown Hiding from pointy hoods and white cloaks. A weight that wove through slaves’ bones Building this nation through agonizing pain Now pushed to the ghettos, the bottom Every “reparation” just a play for political gain. Yes, it hardly evokes much thought Because of the Great Compromise- don’t shoot!- I know the deeper meaning: It’s the small price to pay When considered 3/5ths of a human being.
Christionna Jones
PRIDE
Your skin is beauty, Shine in the sun, There is only one you. When people make fun of The skin they want that they can’t have Your hair is lovely Curly and young. People try and steal your hair. That they can’t have Your hair is unique and silky Curly and fun People mock your color and hair But you ignore You know they are trying To look and be you You stay confident You are proud.
A problem that occurs Is some racial slurs. You try to ignore But sometimes you’re on the floor. You try to stand tall But the people make sure you fall. Are you still proud? Yes That’s the answer you stick with Because you know that you are proud. You think it’s not right That people still separate blacks and whites Even though they know it isn’t right.
Society makes race look like predator But we are also unheard. We still have hate crimes. Its seems like it’s not common They are trying to make us forgotten. We stand up proud with our heads up Standing our ground. But we are still proud.
CCHC-JUNETEENTH FESTIVAL: JOURNEYING TOWARDS FREEDOM
June 17, 1871 -June 26, 1938
James Weldon Johnson, a talented poet & novelist, set a high standard of artistry & realism to Black literature
March 7, 1998
Amanda S. C. Gorman youngest inaugural poet in U.S. history. An American poet and activist.
James Mercer Langston Hughes
February 1, 1902- May 22, 1967
American Poet and More: The Lincoln University Years
American Poet and More: The Lincoln University Years
American Poet and More: The Lincoln University Years
American Poet and More: The Lincoln University Years
American Poet and More: The Lincoln University Years
Let America Be America
Archives of the UCLA Communications Studies Department. Digitized 2013.
Archives of the UCLA Communications Studies Department. Digitized 2013.
Archives of the UCLA Communications Studies Department. Digitized 2013.
Archives of the UCLA Communications Studies Department. Digitized 2013.
Archives of the UCLA Communications Studies Department. Digitized 2013.
West Chester Artists
"My art is a calibration of lives past for their contribution to the human experience. Although many of the people I paint are not famous or well known, deep in our souls we connect to them. They lived their lives as we live now, and they have been where we are yet to go."
Dane E. Tilghman
Sunrise 1957
Dane E. Tilghman, a West Chester native, born in 1957, is one of America’s most sought-after African American visual artists.
"Money is ok, but it isnʼt what life is about. Life is about Living it. Living it straight out."
Jeff Schaller's Blog
February 22, 1888 - July 6, 1946
Horace Pippin was born, in West Chester PA, as a free man only 23 years after the official end of slavery in the United States. His grandparents however, were enslaved people and Pippin carried their suffering in his genes.
He was wounded in 1918 and discharged with a partially paralyzed right arm. He settled in West Chester, Pennsylvania, and eventually began to paint by burning designs into wood panels with a red-hot poker and then painting in the outlined areas.