Title
Honoring and Celebrating Sonia Sanchez, poet, activist, and scholar, on the Occasion of Her 90th Birthday.
Body
WHEREAS, Sonia Sanchez, born on September 9, 1934, in Birmingham, Alabama, is an internationally celebrated poet, educator, and activist whose life and work have been dedicated to advancing Black culture, literature, and civil rights; and
WHEREAS, Sanchez grew up and began her academic career in Harlem, New York, earning a bachelor's degree from Hunter College at the age of 16 and a master's degree from New York University at 19, where she became becoming deeply involved in the civil rights movement; and
WHEREAS, In the 1960s, Sanchez, alongside fellow poet Amiri Baraka, helped develop the first Black Studies program in the United States at San Francisco State University, a pioneering achievement in education that laid the foundation for the study of Black history and culture at institutions across the country; and
WHEREAS, Sanchez has had a profound impact on the arts, introducing conversational Black English into modern poetry, a precursor to the spoken word movement, and co-founding the Broadside Quartet with poets such as Nikki Giovanni and June Jordan, all of whom revolutionized contemporary poetry; and
WHEREAS, Sanchez's work as a writer and professor spans more than six decades, with over 20 books of poetry, children's stories, essays, and plays, including her most recent work, Collected Poems (2021), which stands as a testament to her creative genius and dedication to Black empowerment; and
WHEREAS, Sanchez's role as an educator extends beyond her writing, as she taught English at Temple University for 23 years, having previously taught at the University of Pennsylvania alongside renowned African author Chinua Achebe; and
WHEREAS, In 2012, Sanchez was named Philadelphia's first Poet Laureate, a position that highlighted her influence on the city's artistic and cultural scene, while garnering recognition from literary giants such ...
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