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Poetry is having a moment. Each of National Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman's three forthcoming books will have a first printing of one million copies. The Motown Records label is bringing Black Forum, a spoken-word and poetry subsidiary that ran for three years in the early 1970s.
This revival is not lost on Black journalist Lokela Blanc, a social visuals producer for USA TODAY. Last week, she published an original poem, "blak and (h)wīt," as part of USA TODAY's race and identity newsletter, "This Is America."
"blak and (h)wīt" is about personal struggles and empowerment, and shows us how America's racial definitions are always being re-written. You can read the full poem here.
And you can subscribe to the "This Is America" newsletter here. Each week, a different journalist from the USA TODAY Network tells readers how race and identity impacts aspects of their own lived experience.
Follow Lokela Blanc on Twitter @LowKehLah.
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