Ain’t Never Not Been Black by Javon Johnson

 Yes!   Your students will want to read this very of-the-moment book of poems by Dr. Javon Johnson, award-winning slam poet and Director of African American and African Diaspora Studies at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.  Johnson’s writing couldn’t be more accessible,  more honest, or more powerful.  Dense and tight, there is nothing extraneous here.  Highly recommended for proficient readers ages 14 and up. 

Johnson, Javon.  Ain’t Never Not Been Black.  Button Poetry, 2020. ebook.

Click here and scroll down to the third lesson for a compare and contrast lesson plan utilizing Johnson’s “Cuz He’s Black” poem and King’s “I Have a Dream Speech.”