A small body of determined spirits- fired by an unquenchable faith- in their mission can alter- the course of history. By Mahatma Gandhi. Your biographers never understand- your father's pain as he sells his stock- and another dream goes- And though you're poor it isn't poverty that- concerns you. By Nikki Giovanni- "Nikki-Rosa" In my observance, honor and tribute to Black History Month. The month of February. I will read poems from, by, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Eloise Greenfield, Wendy Hawley, Maya Angelou and Langston Hughes. We Wear the Mask by Paul Laurence Dunbar- We wear the mask that grins and lies,- It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,- This debt we pay to human guile,- with torn and bleeding hearts we smile,- And mouth with myriad subtleties.- Why should the world be overwise,- In counting all our tears and sighs?- Nay, let them only see us, while- We wear the mask.- We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries- To thee from tortured souls arise.- We sing, but oh the clay is vile- Beneath our feet, and long the mile;- But let the world dream otherwise- We wear the mask! Harriet Tubman is a very important person in our country's history. So. Let us celebrate Civil Rights with these 2 poems. No Stuff by Eloise Greenfield- Harriet Tubman didn't take no stuff- Wasn't scared of nothing neither- Didn't come in this world to be no slave- And wasn't going to stay one either- "Farewell" she sang to her friends one night- She was mighty sad to leave them- But she ran away that dark, hot night- Ran looking for her freedom- She ran into the woods and she ran through the woods- With the slave catchers right behind her- And she kept on going till she got to the North- Where those mean men couldn't find her- She hid in the water to hide her scent- Sniff, sniff, the dogs were puzzled, Evading her captors proved a science until her freedom she nuzzled,- Nineteen times she went back South- To get three hundred others- She ran for her freedom nineteen times- To save Black sisters and brothers- Harriet Tubman didn't take no stuff- Wasn't scared of nothing neither- Didn't come in this world to be no slave,- And didn't stay one either.- Harriet Tubman the Hero by Wendy Hawley- Harriet Tubman was a hero, it's true,- She helped everyday people, like me and like you.- Harriet lived in the times of slavery, and she had, each day, to show her bravery- In 1849, from her Maryland home, Harriet did run,- and fled to Pennsylvania, where her freedom she won.- Harriet Tubman was a hero, it's true,- She helped everyday people, like me and like you.- Harriet wanted to do so much more with her freedom,- So, she helped many others who were enslaved to come,- and share in the northern freedom she'd found,- Around 300 slaves, Harriet helped be free, not bound- Harriet Tubman was a hero, it's true,- She helped everyday people, like me and like you.- In 1861, our country fought its own Civil War,- fighting about what liberty, freedom, and rights were for,- Harriet, now a nurse, helped soldiers to heal,- Her heroism, love, and compassion, so true and so real.- Harriet Tubman was a hero, it's true- She helped everyday people, like me and like you. And Still I Rise by Maya Angelou- You may write me down in history- With your bitter, twisted lies,- You may tread me in the very dirt,- But still, like dust, I'll rise.- Does my sassiness upset you?- Why are you beset with gloom?- 'Cause I walk like I've got oil wells- Pumping in my living room.- Just like moons and like suns, With the certainty of tides,- Just like hopes springing high,- Still I'll rise.- Did you want to see me broken?- Bowed head and lowered eyes?- Shoulders falling down like teardrops,- Weakened by my soulful cries.- Does my haughtiness offend you?- Don't you take it awful hard- 'Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines- Diggin' in my own back yard.- You may shoot me with your words,- You may cut me with your eyes,- You may kill me with your hatefulness,- But still, like air, I'll rise.- Does m