Poetry Is Pedagogy: Reimagining How We Teach and Learn | Dr. Kevin Wright | TEDxLasVegas

Key Concepts

• Poetry as a Tool for Understanding and Resistance: The central argument is that poetry is not merely an artistic expression but a powerful pedagogical tool for understanding complex issues like blackness, black identity, and black experiences, and for fostering resistance against systemic injustice.
• Deficit-Oriented Mindset: The tendency to view discussions about blackness through a lens of perceived shortcomings or problems, rather than acknowledging inherent strengths and historical context.
• Intersectionality: The interconnected nature of social categorizations such as race, class, and gender, which create overlapping and interdependent systems of discrimination or disadvantage.
• Pedagogy: The method and practice of teaching, especially as an academic subject or theoretical concept.
• Black Excellence and Resilience: The celebration of achievements and the inherent strength and ability to overcome adversity within the black community.
• Systemic Injustice: The ingrained and institutionalized discrimination faced by black individuals.

The Power of Poetry in Understanding Blackness and Fostering Resistance

This transcript argues that poetry serves as a vital and often underestimated medium for understanding and articulating the complexities of blackness, black identity, and black experiences. The speaker, an educator, challenges the notion that poetry is merely an artistic pursuit, asserting its profound pedagogical value and its role in combating systemic injustice.

The Disconnect Between Poetic Expression and Academic Recognition

The speaker begins by presenting a poem that encapsulates the feelings of resilience, displacement, and the internal conflict of embodying black excellence while witnessing collateral damage. This poetic expression is contrasted with academic statements about the disproportionate experiences of racial discrimination faced by black students and employees. For instance, a 2021 Gallup study revealed that one in four black employees experienced racial discrimination due to their race. The speaker notes that such academic facts often elicit a more serious reaction than poetic expressions, highlighting a societal tendency to dismiss or question the validity of lived experiences when presented through art.

Personal Journey and the Influence of Grandmother

The speaker's personal narrative is deeply intertwined with the power of poetry. Growing up in Las Vegas, poetry and education were crucial in navigating hardships and witnessing trials within their community. The speaker's grandmother played a pivotal role, consistently providing poems to read and emphasizing that "knowledge would always be my greatest weapon in a world that didn't see, appreciate, or love my blackness." This upbringing instilled a sense of purpose and a refusal to "shrink myself in darkness at the expense of another's comfort." The speaker recounts instances of racial harassment in their neighborhood, where black men wearing blue were targeted by white men in the same color, underscoring the pervasive nature of systemic racism.

Challenging Deficit-Oriented Mindsets

As an educator with over a decade of experience, the speaker has observed a persistent "deficit-oriented mindset" when discussing blackness. This is exemplified by questions such as:

• "Why are we still talking about racism even though we've had a black president?"
• "Why do historically black colleges and universities still exist if anyone can go to college?"
• "What is still the point of Black History Month?"

These questions, the speaker argues, have been thoroughly addressed by prominent black thinkers and writers. The speaker cites:

• Langston Hughes: "Yet you say we're fighting for democracy. Then why don't democracy include me? I ask you this question cuz I want to know how long I still got to keep fighting Hitler and Jim Crow."
• Zora Neale Hurston: "The terrible struggle that made me an American out of a potential slave said on the line. The reconstruction said get set and the generation before said go. I am off to a flying start and I must not halt in the stretch to look behind and weep. Slavery is the price I paid for civilization and the choice was not with me."

These quotes illustrate the historical and ongoing struggle for full inclusion and recognition, emphasizing that the nuances of black experiences have been articulated for over a century but not always fully understood or heard.

Poetry as a Valid Form of Scholarship and Pedagogy

The speaker asserts that for the lived experiences of the black community to be believed and honored within academic systems, they often require validation through data and academic publications. The speaker's own publications, including a 2022 book chapter stating, "As long as acts of injustice continue to exist in society, activism will continue to oppose those systems that seek to further disenfranchise people within the African diaspora," and a 2023 statement as an "Afroindigenous scholar, activist, and servant leader" advocating for the marginalized, are presented as examples of this. These sentiments are echoed by Maya Angelou's powerful declaration, "You may shoot me with your words. You may cut me with your eyes. You may kill me with your hatefulness, but still like air I'll rise," and Lucille Clifton's poignant reflection, "Here on this bridge between starshine and clay, my one hand holding tight my other hand, come celebrate with me that every day something has tried to kill me and has failed."

The core argument is that poetry, historically used to preserve history, share culture, tell stories, and inform the masses, is often relegated to a secondary status, separate from formal education. The speaker, however, has successfully integrated poetry into pedagogy, helping students understand concepts like intersectionality, black resistance, and black joy through the works of poets such as Miss AV, Dr. Javon Johnson, and Nikki Grimes. Through the rhythm and rhyme of poets like Zeke and Elizabeth Acavo, and the spoken word of Petite Monster, L. Hope, and James Baldwin, students have been empowered to recall information about black advocacy and liberation.

Debunking Stereotypes and Fostering Critical Lenses

Instead of relying solely on complex lectures with dates and terms, the speaker uses poetry to:

• Debunk stereotypes.
• Help students develop a critical lens.
• Identify their responsibility to disrupt anti-blackness.

The speaker has found greater success in assessing student learning through free verse, prose, and personal stories rather than traditional quizzes and exams. This approach has amplified black voices on college campuses, advocated for their safety and well-being, and created spaces that center black joy and culture. The goal is to make knowledge accessible by avoiding over-intellectualization.

Poetry and Pedagogy: An Inseparable Union

While acknowledging the importance of traditional scholarship, the speaker advocates for the inclusion of poetry in academic discourse. The speaker has actively chosen to "thrive at the intersection" of poetry and pedagogy, rejecting the directive to separate them. Poetry is described as "passion, purpose, intellect, resistance," and its emotional and intellectual impact on students is evident in their changed thinking and actions.

Normalizing the Absurd and the Legacy of Survival

The speaker connects this to the experiences within their community, where "historically white institutions have been complacent, masking their lack of action, care, or service at the expense of upholding a culture that does not truly serve black students, staff, and faculty." This is poetically expressed as a "legacy of survival and resiliency" that blessed their ancestry. The fundamental truth remains that black experiences are real, and poetry transcends classroom confines. The speaker has taught social justice through sonnets, history and hope through haikus, love through limericks, power through prose, freedom through free verse, and blackness through ballots.

Conclusion: Poetry IS Pedagogy

The overarching conclusion is that "Poetry is not separate from pedagogy. Poetry is pedagogy." This statement encapsulates the speaker's conviction that poetry is an integral and powerful method of teaching, learning, and advocating for social justice, particularly in understanding and celebrating black experiences.