Ambassador Speeches

Remarks by Ambassador Carmen Martinez at the Black History Month Poetry Night

Lusaka National Museum
February 09, 2006

Ms. Mulenga Kapwepwe, Chairperson, National Arts Council

Mr. George Mudenda, Director, Lusaka National Museum

Members of the arts and literary community

My Embassy colleagues

Ladies and Gentlemen

I’m very happy to welcome all of you here tonight to this beautiful venue at the Lusaka National Museum for our 2006 Black History Month poetry night. Mr. Mudenda – thank you so much for opening this space to us. The American Embassy has enjoyed a long and fruitful partnership with Lusaka National Museum and we appreciate your hospitality.

We also appreciate the participation of the National Arts Council, led by Ms. Mulenga Kapwepwe. Many Zambian poets are here tonight to read and recite poetry and we very much appreciate your interest in our culture. Thanks also to the cultural group Africa Directions for your impressive performance. This event is truly a partnership between you -- our Zambian friends -- and the U.S. Embassy. The staff of the Embassy’s Public Affairs Section, and USAID’s Chris Gomes, has led this effort and I’m glad to see we have many other Americans here, including two American Fulbright scholars who just arrived in country last week, Dr. Curmie Price and Dr. Elias Mandala.

Every year in February, the United States of America celebrates Black History Month to honor the remarkable social, political, economic, and cultural contributions of black Americans to the culture and history of America. This year’s theme, "Celebrating Community: A Tribute to Black Fraternal, Social, and Civic Institutions," lends itself particularly well to a celebration of poetry. In the long struggle for equality for Americans of African descent, many black social and academic institutions, supported and inspired by writers and poets, have been instrumental.

In particular, two key movements in American history -- the Harlem Renaissance and the Black Arts Movement -- found literary figures intertwined with the social activism of the day. In both of these movements, black writers and poets cast a spotlight on the same themes emphasized by social activists: alienation, marginality, and racism.


This convergence of civic and literary efforts led to the creation and strengthening of many key black institutions, such as the NAACP – the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People -- around the time of the Harlem Renaissance and the Harlem Writers Guild during the time of the Black Arts Movement. These dynamic black fraternal, social, and civic institutions continue to play a key role in society today as the voice and backbone of the black community in America.

During tonight’s program, you will hear the works of many black American poets who practiced their craft during times of social change and political upheaval. You will hear the works of poets who were frustrated with their social and economic situations and you will also hear the works of poets who exalted and embraced their heritage with a fresh and liberating pride. All of these poets strove for a universal dream – the hope for a better life for themselves and their children. I hope you will be inspired by their words. Thank you again for coming here tonight.