The key lines and uplifting sentiments chosen for this “erasure poem” sometimes show their age, but they still make inspiring reading. The text floats on Lewis’ evocative images of opening doorways and marching footsteps, of small figures standing on a mountaintop or rising through clouds, and of hands shaping a heart or holding a tool. “I want to suggest things that should be in your life’s blueprint,” King said. He went on to speak of believing in being Black, beautiful, and good; of staying in school; of rising up like Marian Anderson and Muhammad Ali; of choosing nonviolence over hate (“Our slogan must not be ‘Burn, baby, burn’”); and of transforming injustice into justice. Most of all, he urged, “DON’T SET DOWN / ON THE STEPS / ’CAUSE IT’S / HARD. / KEEP MOVING.” Duncan explains how readers can watch a video of the original talk and provides instructions for making an erasure poem; she closes with a quick summary of the Civil Rights Movement’s hard-won triumphs. It’s uncomfortable to consider how much of that last will be news to today’s middle schoolers.
