By Debbie Allen, Cofounder, Poets Against Racism & Hate USA In 2024, Poets Against Racism & Hate USA and the Ohio Poetry Association (OPA) presented the Ohio Underground Railroad Whistle-Stop Poetry Tour to raise awareness of issues of social injustice, hate, and prejudice past and present. Tour events took place at Underground Railroad sites around […]

Social justice poetry, poetry of dissent, protest poetry, poetry of witness, political poetry—many names exist for the kind of poems PARH USA members write. But in every name is the word “poetry.” In the PARH USA Social Justice Poetry Workshop, we urge participants to keep in mind that they are poets, not propagandists. That a

By Tabassam Shah, Member, Poets Against Racism & Hate USA(updated June 11, 2025) “Instructions for living a life: Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.” —Mary Oliver1 “…poetry is a force for community light, community resilience, and community health.” —Tess Taylor (Poet Laureate Fellow, Academy of American Poets)2 In her February blog post, Debbie Allen,