Sonia Sanchez advocates civil rights
April 3, 2014
Author, poet, and political activist Sonia Sanchez launched into a speech that sounded more like an elaborate poem in Bucknell Hall on April 2. Her talk was part of the Griot Institute for Africana Series “The Civil Rights Movement: Fifty Years Later.”
Sanchez shared her own experiences of standing up for the right thing even when the odds were against her. She encouraged students to question professors and work for an education if they truly want to learn.
Most of all, Sanchez stressed the necessity of peace. She recounted one experience she had when someone told her peace could never be achieved.
“All I could do was give him a hug,” Sanchez said.
Throughout her talk, Sanchez moved back and forth between speaking informally, speaking poetically, and even singing.
Sanchez has authored over 16 books as well as countless plays and poems. As an integral part of the Black Power and Black Studies movements, Sanchez taught the first university course ever offered in the United States on black women. The Griot Institute’s series continues with two more speakers, Ernest Green on April 9 and Kathleen Cleaver on April 16.
