We Speak Your Names: A Celebration

by Pearl Cleage

For centuries, African American women have been remaking the world, giving testament to the power of hope, courage, and resilience. But it took the inspired generosity of Oprah Winfrey to honor fully the many gifts of sisterhood. For three amazing days–from May 13 to 15, 2005–a distinguished group of women was invited to celebrate the enduring achievements of twenty-five of their mentors and role models–and in the process pay tribute to the long, glorious tradition of African American accomplishment.

The brilliant centerpiece of the weekend was the reading aloud of Pearl Cleage’s poem “We Speak Your Names,” written especially for the occasion and appearing here for the first time in this beautiful keepsake book. As deeply moving in print as it was during that weekend of love and praise, the poem names each of the women Dr. Maya Angelou, Coretta Scott King, Diahann Carroll, Toni Morrison, Nikki Giovanni, Rosa Parks, Katherine Dunham, and other legends of the brightest magnitude. With heartfelt eloquence, Pearl Cleage (herself a luminary of the younger generation) celebrates her distinguished elders’ strength, their magic, their sensuality, their loving kindness, their faith in themselves, and the priceless example of their lives. In her introduction, the poet “My sisters, here, there, and everywhere, this poem is for you. Use it, adapt it, pass it on. . . .”


Destined to become a classic, We Speak Your Names is a treasure to keep forever and a precious, inspiring gift for the ones you love.

Genres: Poetry, Audiobook, Nonfiction, History, Adult

64 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Pearl Cleage is an African-American playwright, essayist, novelist, poet and political activist. She is currently the Playwright in Residence at the Alliance Theatre and at the Just Us Theater Company. Cleage is a political activist. She tackles issues at the crux of racism and sexism, and is known for her feminist views, particularly regarding her identity as an African-American woman. Her works are highly anthologized and have been the subject of many scholarly analyses. Many of her works across several genres have earned both popular and critical acclaim. Her novel What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day (1997) was a 1998 Oprah's Book Club selection.

Reviews

[Litsplaining · Rating 3 out of 5]

The emotion I got from reading this poem is hard to put into words. I felt as if Cleage took my feelings I keep written across my heart and mind about my iconic black sheroes and placed them into this poem. I recommend that EVERYBODY read this poem.

[MsChris · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an incredible little book/poem. I am ashamed to admit this but before reading this I had no idea who Pearl Cleage was. (I should also disclose that I really don't like poetry.) This is a poem that she wrote for an Oprah organized event to honor legendary black women. What an honor Cleage bestows on each of them with this poem. The rest of this book is a small bio on each woman that was honored, which was so helpful because I was unfamiliar with many of them. Now I'm inspired, not only as a woman, but as a reader...I must go find more Cleage writings!

[Myra Blake · Rating 5 out of 5]

AWESOME!!!

[Lois · Rating 5 out of 5]

The audiobook is read by the author and relatively short. Well worth the listen.

[Hilmg · Rating 5 out of 5]

If this a spell, I’d encourage you to cast it
Sisterhood in the service of truth

Free
Wise
Strong
Magical
Incandescent

[Gabrielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very quick, but delicious read. This is one that I will come back to time and time again.

[Katherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

A moving long poem crafted to honor women who continue to inspire Pearl Cleage in her journey as a Black woman. Listening to the audiobook is highly recommended by me, as Cleage reads it herself, making it hard to find anything better.

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ok loved this!!! My brain is fried from all the romance books I read and I’m trying to delve into different genres and can honestly say poetry is really doing something for me! This was so beautiful and on top of it being a beautiful poem, Cleage throws a few antidotes in there making it feel super personal and like you’re experiencing the whole thing next to her

[Phyllis | Mocha Drop · Rating 5 out of 5]

This little book is priceless! Inspired by Oprah Winfrey's vision to celebrate the accomplishments of extraordinary African American women, Pearl Cleage answered the call by penning the poem that was key to Winfrey's 2005 Living Legends event. Cleage drew inspiration from the honoree's accomplishments and with a line-up that included greats like Katheryn Dunham, Cicely Tyson, Toni Morrison, Coretta Scott, King, Diana Ross, etc., it was easy to pick a muse and let her imagination flow.

The poem celebrates the spirit of sisterhood, courage, and resilience that these women possess. Pearl's signature themes of freedom, courage, wisdom, and strength (which are often echoed in her novels) are also evident in the prose. She marvels at how the honorees are a beautiful, mulit-talented group of women whose impact will be felt for generations; but more importantly she thanked and recognized each and every one of them (by name) as the truly amazing women they are. A brief biography of each of the twenty-five honorees is also provided in the back of the book.

The poem makes for a perfect gift to friends, sisters, mothers and is a "must have" for any woman's personal library. Bravo - this is a wonderful tribute!

[Kuda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a tribute, a eulogy, a statement, a tear jerker. This book is everything. If you are a young black woman attempting to set your mark in this world please read this book.
"We speak your names because we are free women born of free women born of free women..."

[Phyllis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have wanted to read this for a long time. Finally found it as an audiobook at my local library. Love it and definitely would listen to it again.

[Terri Noftsger · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to the author read this on audio through the Libby App from my local library. I am continuing to try to diversify my reading life and the title of this book interested me. The story behind the beautiful poem sounds like the event at which the poem was read was an amazing event. I also enjoyed the author describing each of the women whose names were spoken in the poem. It is hard to put into words... how it made me feel. What a legacy these women have left for African American Women. I realized that I knew something about almost all the women listed and appreciated anew each of them. All of these women deserve celebrating.

[Carlton Walker]

I don’t really know what to rate this so I’m going to write this review and the come back to it.

I enjoyed listening to this. I wasn’t a huge fan of the repetition but I grew to not mind it as the poem went on. The poem was great! It told a story about how black women look up to the black women who came before them. It painted the picture so well I could close my eyes and see the scene. Then at the end of the poem the author gave a shout out to some black women, telling their stories and also some personal interactions that she had with some of the women. I feel like I want to read the poem, instead of listening, because I want to mark down the lines I really liked.

[Diana McComas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Listened to the audio read by Pearl C. An excellent way to honor female black role models. I wish I could have been at Oprah’s 3 day celebration for these black woman. There is hope for us to have better understanding of racial equity when we hear poetry like this.

[Emily]

This is the sort of thing I love about the Read Harder Challenge: it would never have occurred to me to listen to an audiobook of poetry, and although the library had very few (downloadable) options, it was nice to hear a poet read her work on my commute.

[Alisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely References

This is a beautifully written poetic essay that pays homage to Black female icons. Reading this inspired me to research the names, books, films, songs, etc. that Cleage references. Thank you for this gift of literature for a spectacular and momentous occasion.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! A must read.

[Caryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm so glad I was able to listen to the audiobook read by the author. It is much more powerful to hear than to read.

[Andrial Durant · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are so many wonderful women in the world. Makes me love my womanhood even more. This was a good read-listen of the poem recited during one of Oprah’s many women empowering movements...man wish I was there.

[Naeemah Huggins · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was based on the Legends dinner that Oprah hosted back in 2006. I just wanted to hear the poem written for the event by Pearl Cleage and why the 25 legends were chosen. Enjoyable, quick listen.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read by the author

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

The poem in this book, which pays tribute to Black women who have changed the world, is profoundly moving and inspiring. Loved it!

[Felicia Armelin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great short read

I love the poem and all the famous women it references. Read it to grab excerpt for book club. Must read.

[Pinky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written for an Oprah celebration of black women role models. Spectacular.

[Elizabeth Terrel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply stunning. I love everything Pearl Cleage writes, but this was particularly special!

[Queen · Rating 4 out of 5]

PRICELESS! Before the end I was in tears. Homage to remarkable women still alive is heartwarming. Taking the time to honor and appreciate someone with words increases the level of gratitude exponentially.

[Leigh Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This pocket-sized gift book contains the text of the poem Cleage wrote for Oprah Winfrey's Legends ball. It's a lovely, moving piece about sisterhood and matriarchal lineage, and a clever person could quite easily adapt it to a theatrical production, spoken-word piece, or public ritual. Also contains mini-biographies of all the women honored in the poem. Women looking for a great present for a special woman in their life should consider this.

[Michelle Kampmeier · Rating 3 out of 5]

This poem was written for Oprah's Legends Event. Poem form is my least favorite venue for words because I'm a stickler for grammar. Rules can be broken all over the place in poems, and they were here for sure. But if you can look past that, the message is inspirational. This poem examines the lives of strong, successful African-American women. A little repetitive but not bad.

[Crystal · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the poem and I appreciated learning a little bit about each of the women honored in the poem. I wanted to know more about them. There are some amazing women celebrated here and I wished that the biographical notes were a little more in depth, but that just means I'll be doing research in the future. Perhaps her purpose was to intrigue us enough to seek out more.

[Dee · Rating 5 out of 5]

After I watched Oprah's Celebration of Black Women, I HAD TO GET THIS BOOK!! The event, the youngin's, the gems of our time... PRICELESS!! Oprah truly outdid herself with that celebration. Soooo much talent in the same room, under the same tent. I can only imagine the wisdom that was shared!!