Khadijah Z. Ali-Coleman Presents Her Poem “An Activist Prayer” in Havana, Cuba

Khadijah Z. Ali-Coleman is the 2nd Poet Laureate of Prince George’s County, Md and was in Cuba from Jan. 27-Feb. 3, 2024 with Busboys and Poets and Alice Walker to celebrate Langston Hughes! Did you know that he spent a considerable amount of time in Cuba during his lifetime?
Langston Hughes had a close friendship with Cuban poet Nicholas Guilllen in the 30’s and translated some of Guillen’s early works. Hughes is also credited for influencing Guillen’s views on race and cultural pride among those of the African diaspora, views that came up in Guillen’s work and were trademarks of Hughes’ work.
Alice Walker led the unveiling of a Langston Hughes statue on his 123rd birthday. The unveiling took place at Casa de la Portia in Havana, Cuba. The statue and dedication service were sponsored by Andy Shallal who coordinated, through his restaurant, Busboys and Poets, a delegation of over 70 US arts administrators, writers, performing artists, visual artists and arts lovers, including Dr. Khadijah Z. Ali-Coleman, to attend.
The poem “An Activist’s Prayer” is in Khadijah’s book, The Summoning of Black Joy, now available on Amazon.