Massachusetts Poet Laureate Speaks At African Meeting House In Celebration Of Black History Month

Massachusetts Poet Laureate Regie Gibson headlined an event celebrating Black History Month and the intergenerational power of Black art on Saturday at the African Meeting House, reading several of his poems and participating in a panel discussion.

Gibson involved the audience in some of his poetry, using a call-and-response format for poems including “Let’s Take it Back.”

Staged as part of Nantucket’s Black History Month programming, the event also featured a poetry recitation from Nantucket high school student and Poetry Out Loud winner Danielle Lewis and a reading about Black Nantucket whaler Absalom Boston by Neville Richen.

Nantucket director of culture and tourism Shantaw Bloise Murphy moderated the event, giving an opening address that emphasized the importance of Black history on Nantucket and the ongoing struggle to achieve racial equity.

“The Black history on the island is long, integral, and often overlooked…Nantucket’s abolitionist groups and its history of interracial cooperation were not accidental. They were made possible by Black lives, Black labor, and Black leadership,” Bloise Murphy said. “Being overlooked is not just a historical issue. It is a present one. Recognizing Black history means listening deeply, confronting uncomfortable truths, and committing ourselves to equity, not just in words, but in action.”

After the readings and recitations, the event moved to the Seneca Boston-Florence Higginbotham House for food and live music. The Museum of African American History Boston and Nantucket also brought a simulacra of Frederick Douglass, created using artificial intelligence, to the event.

The event was co-hosted by the Nantucket Chamber of Commerce, the Nantucket Historical Association, the Museum of African American History Boston and Nantucket, and the town’s culture and tourism department. The Museum of African American History owns and operates the African Meeting House.