A Light for the World to See: Kwame Alexander on Race, Justice, Poetry, and Hope
In the week before this episode airs, the sickness and violence in our country again came into harsh focus. An insurrection, spurred by the delusional, hateful, and outgoing President of the United States resulted in five deaths and the desecration of the seat of our government.
This episode has healing. This episode has magic. This episode has Kwame Alexander.
Kwame Alexander is the New York Times Bestselling author of 32 books, including THE UNDEFEATED, HOW TO READ A BOOK, THE WRITE THING, SWING, REBOUND, which was shortlisted for prestigious Carnegie Medal, and, his NEWBERY medal-winning middle grade novel, THE CROSSOVER. He’s also the Founding Editor of VERSIFY, an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt that aims to Change the World One Word at a Time. His new book Light for the World to See: A Thousand Words on Race and Hope is now available.
Listen:
Sources for audio clips
| 2015 Newbery-Caldecott-Wilder Banquet: Kwame Alexander Newbery Speech | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnh3JNCMLq8 |
| Year In Review: A Look Back At The Racial Justice Movement In 2020 | Craig Melvin | MSNBC | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e58uaCQDCwc |
| Impact of the 2020 March on Washington for racial justice - CBS News | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuEO1KkuiG4 |
| The Power of Yes | Kwame Alexander | TEDxHerndon | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkTn3l2FnIY |
| Kids Learn Ingredients of a Poem with Kwame Alexander and TCM | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDTmswL2cf0 |
| Aknowledging America's Racist Past (around 8:22) | |
| The Racist Origins of the U.S. Police Force - AJ+ | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayUQmnLCHEg |
| Jericho Brown around 14:39 | |
| The art of words | Jericho Brown | TEDxEmory | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DsG-tMZjKY |
| Muhammad Ali (around 20:00) | |
| Greatest Muhammad Ali Trash Talk | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=076sG0IJhPg |
| Arthur Miller Killing (around 25:48) | |
| The Police Killing of Arthur Miller, 40 Years Later - Center for Brooklyn History | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sFWdhNzFs4 |
| Library Cuts (around 33:30) | |
| Sharon Draper on library budget cuts - American Library Association | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYjQtGAPLYs |
| Book in a day | |
| Book In A Day Promotional Video | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6MRXkMdEVs |
| NPR Community Poem | |
| Running For Your Life': A Community Poem For Ahmaud Arbery - NPR Morning Edition | https://www.npr.org/2020/05/27/862339935/running-for-your-life-a-community-poem-for-ahmaud-arbery |
| Outro | |
| The art of words | Jericho Brown | TEDxEmory | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWLlOSHLwG0 |
Show Credits
Host: Alyssa Milano
Executive Producer: Alyssa Milano
Associate Producer: Ben Jackson
Editing and Sound Production: Natasha Jacobs
Music by: Josh Cooke & Eleisha Eagle
