Video

When Poetry Meets History: Spoken Word and the Bombing of 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, AL

Posted on by pcvllari

On September 15, 1963, around 10:24 am, the predominantly African-American congregation was gathered at Birmingham’s 16th Street Baptist Church like every Sunday, when a dynamite bomb blasted through the building. The explosion killed four young African-American girls, Denise McNair (11), Addie Mae Collins (14), Carole Robertson (14), and Cynthia Wesley (14), and injured more than 20 others. The bombing was part of a series of terrorist attacks perpetrated in the Alabama city by white segregationists who opposed racial integration and voter registration of African Americans.

Art forms like poetry, music, literature, and visual and performing arts help us discuss and understand historical events in more inclusive and approachable ways. To remember the courage of those who fought for social and racial equality, and to commemorate the lives lost during the fight for justice, we want to share “16th Street Baptist Church Speaks,” a persona poem written and performed by Christopher Michael that dramatizes the bombing of Birmingham’s 16th Street Baptist Church.

Content warning: the poem contains strong language.

If you enjoyed seeing how spoken word and history connect, don’t miss the spoken word performance at the 2025 Art Award reception on October 21, 2025, 5:30 – 7:30 pm, at the Benjamin L. Hooks Institute for Social Change at the University of Memphis, Wilder Tower, 11th Floor.

Bio: Christopher Michael (Poet For Hire) has been a regular at Austin Poetry Slam since he won his FIRST Grand Slam title in 2005. MC, champion, host, writer, author, educator, publisher, pappy, professor veteran, nurse and international literary artist. Christopher Michael uses poetry to address mental health, relationship accountability, and black American history.  He’s done more in poetry than most poets know can be done. He’s the resident host at Austin Poetry Slam, and Master Piece’s For Love of Words (F.L.O.W.) Show case and F.L.O.W. International. You can follow him on all social media @mrmicahel310, check him out at http://mrmichael310.com and take a little bit of him home with you at http://310brownstreet.com. He will take you the poetic ride that you deserve. HOOTIE HOOO…

Critical Race Theory: What It Is and What It Isn’t (Video)

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The Benjamin L. Hooks Institute hosted an online discussion on the importance of Critical Race Theory (CRT) in academic, education, and activist studies. The event was live-streamed on the Hooks Institute’s Facebook page on June 22 from 6-7 pm CST.

CRT is invaluable in how it helps us understand, research, study, and teach how race functions in the United States and across the globe. However, much of this has come under attack as opponents of CRT charge that it divides Americans and promotes a distorted view of American history through a racial and ideological lens. In response to these attacks on CRT, the panelists addressed those concerns and helped unpack what CRT is and why it has been and continues to be an essential tool in addressing our racist past and present.