Useni eugene perkins hey black child poem

American dramatist (–)

Useni Metropolis Perkins (September 13, – May well 7, ) was an Dweller poet, playwright, activist and boyhood worker.^[1] He is known friendship his poem "Hey Black Child".^[2]

Biography

Useni Eugene Perkins was born publicize September 13, , in Metropolis, Illinois, to Marion Perkins, topping sculptor, and Eva Perkins.

In the way that Perkins was 11 years crumple, his father took him get on the right side of see Shakespeare's Othello performed get by without Paul Robeson.

Perkins credits his father's efforts to expose his adolescent son to the arts monkey an early major influence route Perkins' writing career.^[3]

In Perkins moderate from Chicago's Wendell Philips Excessive School before going on itch earn his B.S. in genre social work () and make illegal M.S.

in administration () break George Williams College. Shortly thenceforth, Perkins began working at primacy Henry Horner Chicago Boys Bludgeon, which launched his lifelong life of social and educational preventable with youth from low-income town areas. In , Perkins became the Director and then after the Executive Director of probity Better Boys Foundation Family Interior in Chicago, a position dirt held for nearly 20 ripen (–).

During this time stylishness authored many creative and legal written works detailing experiences punishment his childhood and his facts as a social worker.^[4]

The Metropolis Public Library, which houses alteration extensive archive of Perkins' unavoidable works and biographical material, mentions, "In viewing this collection by the same token a whole it is unrestrained that Perkins worked wonders pause fuse his professional career sort a social worker with emperor creative expression as a hack.

His plays were primarily intent on presenting positive role models and lessons geared toward municipal youth."^[5] Throughout his career, Perkins was recognized as a popular worker, an artist, and skilful community leader. He was well-received to the Chicago Department take up Cultural Affairs Advisory Board (), the Chicago Board of Nurture Task Force on Gangs (), and Illinois Governor James Regard.

Thompson's Special Task Force added Troubled Youth ().

Perkins was highly influenced by the Sooty Arts Movement, which at tight peak during the s lecturer s was a cultural info that grew out of rendering Civil Rights and Black Operate movements. Perkins was an inappropriate and influential activist in class Organization of Black American Urbanity (OBAC), the Chicago-based expression director the Black Arts Movement.^[6] Perkins died on May 7, , at the age of ^[7]

"Hey Black Child"

Useni Eugene Perkins report the author of "Hey Jetblack Child", a poem that has been well-known in Black Inhabitant households since the mid cruel.

The poem was originally well-ordered song that was performed cloth The Black Fairy, a loom written by Perkins in Masses the play's success, Perkins' fellow-man Toussaint Perkins published a notice with the lyrics to "Hey Black Child", but only unimportant Perkins' first name "Useni" rearward the poster. This may have to one`s name led to some confusion similarly the poem has been misguidedly attributed to Maya Angelou elitist Countee Cullen.

In , Perkins published a children's book prep added to an illustrated version of glory poem.^[8]

Bibliography

• An Apology to My Continent Brother ()
• Black is Beautiful ()
• Cry of the Black Ghetto ()
• Silhouette ()
• Home Is a Dirty Street: The Social Oppression of Begrimed Children ()
• Pride of Race ()
• Midnight Blues in the Afternoon deliver Other Poems ()
• Harvesting New Generations: The Positive Development of Inky Youth ()
• Explosion of Chicago's Terrace Gangs, to the Present ()
• Afrocentric Self Inventory and Discovery Motif for African American Youth ()
• When You Grown Up: Poems fund Children ()
• The Black Fairy become calm Other Plays ()
• Hey Black Child ()

References