Title: 5 Powerful Poems About Human Rights | Human Rights Careers
Headings: 5 Powerful Poems About Human Rights
5 Powerful Poems About Human Rights
“I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings” – Maya Angelou
“Let America Be America Again” – Langston Hughes
“The Last Quatrain of the Ballad of Emmett Till” – Gwendolyn Brooks
“Poem About My Rights” – June Millicent Jordan
“I Do” – Andrea Gibson

Content: 5 Powerful Poems About Human Rights | Human Rights Careers
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5 Powerful Poems About Human Rights
Poetry and human rights have always been closely linked. In fact, Archibald MacLeish, one of the preamble drafters of the UN Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, was a poet as well as a politician. Unlike prose, the rules of poetry are meant to be bent and broken, allowing writers to use words like paint on a canvas. The result has a unique and powerful ability to provoke empathy. Many poets harness their talents to draw attention to the state of human rights and express deep, complex feelings. Here are five poems that speak to this art form’s relationship to human rights: “I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings” – Maya Angelou
One of the most significant writers and activists of all time, Maya Angelou (1928-2014) is known for her poetry, memoirs, essays, and more. Her 1969 memoir, I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, explores her early life, which includes sexual abuse. Writing poetry and stories helped her cope with this experience. The poem “I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings” contrasts the lives of two birds – one free and one caged.