Recently, I attended a “Write Night” sponsored by the Free Minds Book Club & Writing Workshop, a D.C.-based organization.(See below for more information and check them out at:  http://www.freemindsbookclub.org.)

At a Write Night, people come together to read and respond to poems written by young inmates. We write words of encouragement and praise with the purpose of giving them hope and keeping them writing. The events also include “Poet Ambassadors” – young men who participated in the program when they were incarcerated and are now back home. It’s wonderful to be able to interact with them. This is one of the most gratifying ways I can think of to spend an evening, and Quenten’s poem (below) was among several that really spoke to me.

As an educator at a community college, I find that there are many ways this poem relates to our work. First, there’s the reminder of how easy and tempting it is to label people. We educators are, unfortunately, as guilty of that as anyone else, sometimes making snap judgments and applying labels that stick for years, even when we’ve gotten it wrong. Some of our students are still wearing that “you can’t write” tag that was slapped on them back in middle school.

The second thing I want to highlight about the poem is the final phrase: “what you call yourself will determine . . .” That’s especially powerful following the amazing evolution of labels in the poem. I suspect Quenten didn’t move from “inmate” to “inspiration” all by himself, and our students aren’t going to jump from “bad at math” to “engineer” on their own either. They need our help, and throwing formulas up on the board is the least of it.

Finally, there are the limitations of our job titles (professor, coordinator, advisor, technician, office associate, whatever). We all know we’re more than our titles, but please take a moment to think about the labels we hope our student attach to us. Words like helpful, welcoming, encouraging, inspiring, reliable, enthusiastic, mentor.

Now, list the labels of you at your best, and, as Quenten says, “lay claim to them.”

— Dennis Huffman

(I’m a Survivor)

“The Labels of My Life”

— Quenten

Precious                                                                            Airman

Precocious                                                                        Civilian

Mischievous                                                                     Muslim

Rambunctious                                                                 Christian

Spoiled                                                                              Five Percenter

Rebellious                                                                         Son

Hard Headed                                                                   Brother

Procrastinator                                                                 Uncle

Daydreamer                                                                     Nephew

Outspoken                                                                       Grandson

Charismatic                                                                     Teammate

Manipulative                                                                   Leader

Intelligent                                                                        Follower

Friend                                                                               Suspect

Comrade                                                                           Perpetrator

Sweetheart                                                                        Criminal

Colored                                                                              Inmate

Negro                                                                                 Convict

Black                                                                                  Felon

Afro American                                                                  Mentor

African American                                                            Inspiration

N*****                                                                               Achiever

Graduate                                                                           Overcomer

Some labels are permanent and others come and go.  But what is most important is what you choose to lay claim to and the ones you don’t.  And even more important than them all is how you will define your life by the character of your heart, what you call yourself will determine what you think, feel, say and do.

 

Many thanks to Quenten for giving us permission to share his poem.

Meet Quenten

I am a strong black man who made a bad decision when I was much younger many years ago, based on false truths and misconceptions, and I’m now paying my debt to society for those actions without excuses. I understand that my rite of passage into true manhood would come fighting against a current of negativity and degradation on a daily basis in a system that wants nothing more than to destroy my sense of humanity. It’s through God’s saving grace and mercy that I’ve come to love, accept, and know who I am, and whose I am. Who I was and where I came from is irrelevant. But who I am and where I’m going in life? Priceless.

Meet Dennis Huffman

Dennis Huffman has been program director of Prince George’s Community College at University Town Center since 2000. While he considers growing up on an Ohio apple farm to be the most important part of his training, he also holds a master’s degree in teaching English as a second language and a doctorate in community college education. Since 2009, Dennis, inspired by Teaching with Fire, has been sharing poems and reflections with faculty and staff each week.  Check out two other blog posts by Dennis – Why Finding the Right Metaphor Matters and the river between us – you’ll find they fit together very well with this post.

We invite you to send in your own blog posts on poems or poets that have moved you – as well as on teaching and the teacher’s life.  Check out our Guidelines and Suggestions for submissions or email us at teachingwithheartfirepoetry@gmail.com

Meet Free Minds Book Club & Writing Workshop

Empowering young inmates to write new chapters in their lives. Free Minds uses books, creative writing, and peer support to awaken DC youth incarcerated as adults to their own potential. Through creative expression, job readiness training, and violence prevention outreach, these young poets achieve their education and career goals, and become powerful voices for change in the community. Winner of the 2015 Aspen Ideas Award from the Aspen Institute, the Justice Potter Stewart Award from the Council for Court Excellence, and the Library of Congress Best Practices in Literacy Award.