By Debbie Allen and Patricia Thrushart, Cofounders, Poets Against Racism & Hate USA
In a few days, we will resume the Ohio Underground Railroad Whistle-Stop Poetry Tour after a brief summer hiatus. We do so gratified by outcomes we’ve achieved thus far and optimistic about impacts we may realize going forward.
Poets Against Racism & Hate USA and the Ohio Poetry Association are collaborating throughout 2024 to present the Ohio Underground Railroad Whistle-Stop Poetry Tour. This series of readings taking place around the state features poems that honor Ohio’s role in the Underground Railroad and raise awareness of issues of social injustice, hate, and prejudice that persist today.
Outcomes To-Date
Some outcomes are measured through numbers. Indeed, numbers do help define successes achieved over the course of our first five tour events. The events exposed audiences—well over 100 attendees altogether—to the impassioned works of 20 poets from across the state. We presented five social justice poetry workshops to both youth and adults. In fact, as the result of programming offered during middle school English/language arts classes at one locale, the town’s sixth graders generated 55 original social justice poems! We also garnered more than four dozen contributions to our “River to Freedom” collaborative poem, which continues to develop from stop to stop.
Other outcomes, conversely, are immeasurable. For example, PARH USA as an organization has been strengthened immensely through engagement with the venerable Ohio Poetry Association. The tour’s poets have been given voice in venues where poetry is not always center stage, allowing them to showcase their talents and touch hearts in a fresh way. Historic works by poets of color have received renewed attention, with unexpected audiences experiencing their power nearly two centuries after they were penned. And event attendees have walked away pledging to “be more aware,” “gain more knowledge,” and “speak out more” about social justice issues.
Ever More Potential Going Forward!
We embark on the second half of the tour with grant funding! In support of the project, Ohio Poetry Association secured a Trillium Local Activity Grant from the America 250-Ohio Commission and an ArtSTART grant from the Ohio Arts Council. Responding to the grant awards, Ohio Poetry Association president and PARH USA member Holly Brians Ragusa expressed gratitude and stressed the purpose of the project. “This recognition underscores OPA’s strong partnership with Poets Against Racism & Hate USA,” Ragusa noted, “and recognizes the application of artistry to better serve equity throughout history.”
Our previous blog post about the tour opened with descriptions of the incredible settings in which the first five events took place. The second half of the tour will be no different! We’ll find ourselves in more homes that served as Underground Railroad stations, a historic church founded on the principles of antislavery and abolition, and a museum dedicated to educating today’s citizenry on the importance of the Underground Railroad. We can only imagine how settings such as these will contribute to the potency of the tour!
And it goes without saying that the poets at our remaining events will continue to awe and inspire! Sharing their own original works and those of social justice poets of the past, they will embody the PARH USA aim of confronting racism, bigotry, and hate through the power of poetry.
For more information about the Ohio Underground Railroad Whistle-Stop Poetry Tour, visit our Events page. We hope to see you at an upcoming stop!