Attitude about itself, and self pride. Sees been visiting harrisburg, pennsylvania to learn about its history. It was the longest stone arch bridge in the world. Up next, was inspired to discover harrisburg africanamerican roots. Months back, birds flying worth, to talk about travels. And story pieces of a unicorn, bigger than the naomi reeves each picture tell the story of hunters stealing in the woods to catch a unicorn. Strange birds drilling in the woods. Sketches of hunters capturing and killing the unicorn, the room filled up with sound like a church choir singing hallelujah at easter. We are located in fort hunter, a large estate, it had been a large estate but now a park. It has existed since the revolutionary war located on a block above the susquehanna. It was used for strategic purposes, the United States won its freedom, this place became owned by a family named callister. They were entrepreneurs. As a child i knew fort hunter was here but i did not know until i was out of high school 15 years, my 50th high school reunion, there was there were enslaved people at fort hunter. This is located north of my home in harrisburg. I was fascinated and fortunate to come across this, and all of that. Archaeologists have been here. And i dont remember the artifacts but they were attached to the time of enslavement. I gave you a different relationship, what were they talking about. And in the absence of that conversation about slavery, enslavement, race. When i we going to start to talk about it . We have evidence that we have a history here. We need to talk about it. Why does this become important to me . Then i found out there was an africanamerican cemetery the size of a large room. It was the head stone, some of them were up heaved by roots at an angle and we could hear gunshots, people were doing target practice and i saw things that looked like head stones could have been struck by bullets, it was clear something had struck it. Once i took in the physical dimension of it, i could feel the spirit of the past. It was passable and all of us, some of us were africanamerican, some were white and we could fear the spiritual significance. People who accompanied me on this journey and there was something amazing about this, felt embrace stand for me it was permission to tell the story. I started with the stories that i remembered and the stories kept growing because i continued to take classes on poetry and literature at penn state and i found out through a lot of mentorship, kind professors, they helped me to know i needed to tell my stories in poetry. When i wrote this book of poems i wanted to decompress the anger. As i wrote this book of poems i found answers to questions i didnt know i had. One of those questions was, once i get rid of the anger, what happens next . I had the opportunity to find an answer to one of those questions because i was after that, to the africanamerican cemetery and read a poem to them. If i may i will read that poem too. Getting rid of the a year is the only thing i needed to do. I had to dig deeper and find a way, that feeling of peace that i had in the cemetery, nothing saying new and improved, this is what we need to do, and after writing more, and at the rotation by carl vincent and his colleagues to read this poem at a public gathering they sponsored called a trip to an africanamerican cemetery. It was beautifully publicized, 100 people came. It was a beautiful, spring morning, it was a pilgrimage. Once we got to the side of the cemetery people gathered around and listened carefully as i read the next poem i am going to read. The answer to the question i didnt know to ask at first, once you get rid of the anger, what is next . The answer is give a gift. It lies within the spirit and that is one of the things we need to do to own our past, acknowledge, the roles that we played. And talk to people about it and move on. I wanted to read a poem called naomi harvest. Naomi is a fictional and safe woman who wasnt really here, i put her here. She could still smell the human misery in the belly of the slave ship. Retraced the words of a risky prayer into naomis hands. [speaking in native tongue] all she recalls of home, she does not know the meanings in english, she hears her mothers voice and feels the shapes of the words. Somehow retraced in the root tendrils that cling to the corns. She packs up her roots, puts on her shawl, puts it over her shoulder and turns to walk back down the path as the moon rises over the darkening ridges on the west side of the susquehanna. Becoming informed about those slaves reminds me that we have to own our past. I said i didnt know enslaved people were here and there is this emptiness, black people show up in harrisburg. There is a meaning to that. In harrisburg it is special because it gives us a pass to relate to, a proud past, some defendants of those enslaved people may be living here, we may be rubbing shoulders with our past. Everybody has a story that needs to be shared, you have language and whether you speak it or write it in a journal use your language to communicate with each other and even those who want to make you feel less, find a way to speak not at them with create a strong community. You start by owning your past, use your language, knowing you have a story and go forward in peace and injustice we are standing on the ground of the Pennsylvania State capital in harrisburg. Up next the civil rights leader who worked alongside frederick douglass, Harriet Tubman and john brown. Learn about the impact of this lesserknown abolitionist William Howard day. The book is called legendary locals of harrisburg. It is titled that because that is what it