Poetry, Protest, and Politics: The Building Blocks of Social Justice

Abstract

The following text is an examination of the pursuit of social and racial justice with emphasis on why such work is crucial for all people. Three analysis papers and a formal introduction project and amplify the voices of Black Americans and their allies at this critical period in United States history. Each paper examines one of three valuable and varied mediums used to create change: protest, poetry, and politics. The first paper zooms in on the poetic prose of Jason Reynolds’ novel "Long Way Down," written as a fictional but realistic and intimate portrait of how one Black American teenager wrestles with what justice on the street looks like following his brother’s murder and what it might look like should he break the cycle of relying on the rules of revenge he learned in his neighborhood. Reynolds’ work provides crucial context for the daily lives of many young Black men in America and the importance of examining how we define justice. The second paper examines how the outrage and heartache following George Floyd’s murder in 2020 was channeled into visual art as a form of protest and continues to impact interpretation and participation in current and historical events.The final paper adopts a wider lens again to examine the United States Congress where Jasmine Crockett is the representative for her district in Texas. Her voice, which has gone viral many times since her work in the House began, serves to emphasize how the past and present are colliding at this moment in United States politics and must be examined and disrupted to dismantle the dangerous resurgence of white supremacy in government and establish true justice in America.