Semaj Brown's "Black Dandelion" poem has grown into an international platform that will encourage literacy and foster critical thinking skills in youth.
FLINT, Mich., Feb. 13, 2023 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- "…Brown's keynote address was a vision. It was one of what education could be-and should be-in a just world that is equitable, diverse, and inclusive. She fused science, art, storytelling, and language into a tapestry for everyone in that room to discover. I think this is what led to her standing ovation: the perfectly articulated, intentional way that Semaj connected with every educator in the space in such a small-time frame…"
– Carrie Mattern, President-Elect of MCTE, Michigan Council of Teachers of English, Flint Courier News
Fall of 2022, Semaj Brown, Poet Laureate of Flint, Michigan and Academy of American Poets Laureate fellow of 2021 delivered the keynote lunch speech, "PSL, Poetry as a Second Language: The Semajian Method" to Michigan Council of Teachers of English for their Centennial Conference in Lansing, Michigan. That afternoon also launched Brown's multimedia youth platform, "Black Dandelion: Convergent Voice, (BDCV). It is an intergenerational, futuristic platform that utilizes "applied poetry" as an integrative tool. The platform amplifies literacy capacity, improves skill-based learning, and heightens critical thinking and cognitive expansion across disparate disciplines of science and art.
According to research, the pandemic deepened inequities in literacy rates. Students at lower-achieving schools fell further behind, potentially widening the pre-existing achievement gap between rich and poor. The COVID pandemic with its isolation and virtual teaching, exacerbated the problem of children not reading on grade level. The problem of young people reading well below their grade level increases exponentially when they attend high-poverty schools.
After her presentation, news about Semaj Brown's new platform quickly spread across the state of Michigan, with multiple teachers asking to initiate Black Dandelion: Convergent Voice in their classrooms. Within a week, Brown was peppered with additional requests from Colorado, California, and Togo West Africa. It is official, the multimedia platform based upon a poem is now international.
When asked how she developed the multimedia platform, the award-winning educator and Poet Laureate explained, "Words are the building blocks of language, just as cells are the building blocks of the living. Each word is a world, teaming with synonyms, antonyms, histories, and mysteries, a universe of narratives to be explored. The Black Dandelion: Convergent Voice platform establishes a new way of thinking in education" states Brown.
On March 18, 2023, video presentations from students from Togo West Africa will be featured along with presentations from high school students from Peckham Career Academy, and students from Holmes STEM Middle School Academy, during a community-wide Black Dandelion: Convergent Voice workshop at the Flint Public Library.
With the immediate success of Black Dandelion: Convergent Voice, Brown is seeking corporate support, and funding for this innovative platform. To learn more about this new transformative educational tool, Black Dandelion: Convergent Voice click this link: https://issuu.com/1plflint/docs/colored_final_booklet_blackdandelion_mcte_color
About Semaj Brown: She is Flint, Michigan's inaugural Poet Laureate and the recipient of the Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellowship Award, 2021. She is also an award-winning educator and author of the book, "Bleeding Fire! Tap the Eternal Spring of Regenerative Light." An excerpted recording is highlighted in the national AT&T Dream in Black, Black Future Makers Afrofuturistic Lifestyle television commercial. To learn more, visit: http://www.SemajBrown.com
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SOURCE Semaj Brown
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