Friday, February 24, 2012

826 National celebrates Black History Month

February is Black History Month, and to celebrate, we’re honored to present a poem by 826DC student Shannon Marshall, "To Live and Die." This selection is just one piece from City Blossoms, a powerful anthology written by the students of 826DC that illustrates the struggles and hopes of a generation of young Americans seeking to define themselves within our nation’s multifarious capital.

To Live and Die
by Shannon Marshall

Mambo sauce and chicken raised me,
Go-Go kept my heart on a steady beat—my lighthouse
So I’ll never forget where I came and where I’m going.
D.C. raised me high, put the future in front of me.
Monumental statue and U Street legends inspired me,
Beating the odds on the very streets gentrification eats alive with condos and useless buildings.
But I am more grateful than bitter for what I have overcome.
No struggles I can claim, just the day-to-day life that molded me into
Everything I’m fighting not to be.
Been from hell to Cedar Hill, the resting place of Frederick Douglass
Shaded by cherry blossom trees and quenched by one dollar carry-out ice teas.
I’ve seen so much almost nothing can scare me,
But what’s frightening is these streets I call home will soon be demolished,
But memories will forever live
In ten years I won’t recognize the corner store where bubble gum was only 25 cents.

To read more and see multimedia content, including videos of the students reading their work, you can check out the City Blossoms iPad app here.