We Speak Your Names (Library Edition)

“Sisterhood in the service of truth is an undeniable force in these remarkable times. My Sisters, here, there, and everywhere, this poem is for you….” In the tradition of Maya Angelou’s Phenomenal Woman, best-selling author Pearl Cleage brings us an inspiring poem for all women, destined to become a classic. Cleage refers to We Speak Your Names as a “celebration” which is part of an oral tradition that encompasses the entire history of the African-American experience. This tradition, she says, grew out of an understanding that “some things must be spoken out loud to get where the magic is.” What results is a praise poem which acknowledges the legacy of those who have gone before, and a realization, “with a knowing deeper than the flow of human blood in human veins, that we are part of something better, truer, deeper.