Watch Color Blind

Step 1: Watch Color Blind

Step 2: Explore and Reflect

Poetry can be used as a tool and a forum to explore and consider diversity in ability, ethnicity, nationality, race, religion, gender identity, sexual identity, and socioeconomic status. 

Use YouTubeLinks to an external site. to search “spoken word poetry” that focuses on the life experiences of someone different from you in ability, ethnicity, nationality, race, religion, gender identity, sexual identity, or socioeconomic status. 

Suggested poets to start your search:

Alex Dang

Joseph Capehart

Denice Frohman

Muna Abdulahi

Lady Brion

Guante

Patrick Roche

Candace Nicholas-Lippman

Arvind Nandakumar

Reagan Myers

Step 3: Discuss

Choose one poetry performance to focus on for this discussion (if you are a poet, it can be your own).

EmbedLinks to an external site. the performance piece in your discussion response.

Performance requirements:

Under 10 minutes 

College appropriate language and content (Rated G or PG13)

Before composing your response, carefully consider language. Do not use divisive words such as us/them. Be more inclusive in your language choices by avoiding marginalizing descriptors. A person is a person. Unless it is needed to clarify a point their religion, race, gender, sexuality, etc. does not need to be included in a writing assignment.  

If you must describe a person as part of an assignment (or conversation). Use person-first rather than identity-first language. Using language to refer to a person rather than an identity brings equity to language, thoughts, and feelings, which brings equity to behaviors. By referring to a person before referring to one aspect of their identity, we can fight unconscious bias, marginalization, and discrimination. Words have POWER! 

Person first language examples:  a person who works as a teacher, a person who is Latinx, a person who is Muslim, a person who has anxiety, a person who identifies as transgender, a person who is Canadian, a person who is middle-class, a person who is asexual, a person who is white. Use this language in your discussion post.

Identity first language examples: a teacher, a Latinx, a Muslim, an anxious person, a transgender, a Canadian, a middle-class, an asexual, a white. Do not use this language in your discussion post.

What does the poet want viewers to learn from this performance?

Identify the emotion(s) invoked by the poem. What specific words or examples does the poet use to invoke emotion?

How does this poem help viewers to learn about, understand, respect, honor, or celebrate diversity?