By Debbie Allen, Cofounder, Poets Against Racism & Hate USA
The flow of hate-derived, hate-fermenting commotion spewing from the White House during this onset of Donald Trump’s second presidency is having its intended effect. Many are stunned, speechless and paralyzed, wondering what to do in response. As poets, we know what to do. Write. Write from the depths of our fiery poet souls. As Toni Morrison said regarding a previous state of affairs, “This is precisely the time when artists go to work. There is no time for despair, no place for self-pity, no need for silence, no room for fear. We speak, we write, we do language. That is how civilizations heal.”
Heeding Morrison’s words, the challenge of meeting this moment is not whether to write. But it may be choosing which wrong to write about. Today’s news is rife with topics pertinent to PARH USA’s cause: obliteration of DEI initiatives and affirmative action ideals, characterization of accuracy in education as “indoctrination,” elimination of gender-affirming care and other rights for the trans community, rejection of birthright citizenship and refugee protections, revocation of Native American naming for landmarks, and on and on. Although some of this administration’s maneuvers are being/will be thwarted due to illegality, the gists of Trump’s early-days executive orders telegraph his goals and, disturbingly, may serve as prompts for PARH USA poets.
This indeed is precisely the time to go to work. But attempting to write in response to a roar-gush of abuses can be overwhelming. When emotions peak, one thing that can ground our work—as well as bring credibility and detail to it—is research. In the PARH USA Social Justice Poetry Workshop, we apply the mnemonic P-A-R-H-U-S-A, wherein each letter corresponds with an input that can be used in writing social justice poems. The R stands for research. In the workshop, we point out that social justice poetry is a form of persuasive writing and that the more you know about your topic, the richer, the more effective, the more persuasive your poem will be. Interviewing experts and others, recording observations, studying historic events, reading news articles and opinion pieces, and even combing public records for data are all ways to conduct research that can bolster your social justice poems. Research also can ease you into a difficult subject, allowing you to switch modes temporarily from heart to mind. The facts you uncover, in turn, can fuel your emotional fire.
Of course, in this age of extreme bias and misinformation, knowing where to find accurate information for crafting a credible—and thus compelling—social justice poem can be challenging. Harvard Library and other entities that advocate for accuracy in research have recommended the Media Bias Chart. According to the January 2025 version of the chart, some of the least biased, most reliable news sources include USA Facts, Pew Research Center, Reuters, and Associated Press. Other useful sources are low-bias, high-reliability forums such as Just Security, university research–based outlets such as The Conversation, and fact-checking platforms such as Snopes.
We call on our members—each of you—to meet this moment with poetry. Familiarize yourself with the actions of the Trump administration, identify those that ignite your deepest outrage, conduct research about them, and pull from your poet soul to create the art so needed today. Then thrust your work into the world—read and perform it at open mics, submit it for publication, share it with others in any way you can. Open your mouth not to drink gulpingly, helplessly from the firehose but to breathe withering fire into the face of its bearer.
Sources
Chiwaya, N., Perlmutter-Gumbiner, E., Dean, S., Prindiville, T., Kenny, C., Kamisar, B., Bowman, B., Bland, S., Rivera, M., and Shannon, M. (2025, February 10). Tracking Trump’s executive orders. NBC News. https://www.nbcnews.com/data-graphics/tracking-trumps-executive-orders-rcna189571. Accessed February 11, 2025.
Morrison, T. (2015, March 23). No place for self-pity, no room for fear. The Nation. https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/no-place-self-pity-no-room-fear/
News Media Across the Political Spectrum. [Research guide]. Harvard Libraries. https://guides.library.harvard.edu/newsleans/thechart. Accessed February 15, 2025.