Henrico County students participate in 2025 Black History Month Poetry Slam

HENRICO COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — Henrico County middle and high school students took the mic Wednesday evening for the third annual Black History Month Poetry Slam.

Students recited original works along with works of notable authors to tie in this year's Black History Month with the theme, "Where do we go from here?"

"This is always an amazing treat in our year just to have a platform for students to present their voices in the most authentic way as writers, as speakers, and to feel that on a stage in their community is awesome," said Tiffany Lewis, Chief officer of the school division's Office of Diversity, Equity and Opportunity."

Middle and high school students participated by performing poetry while elementary school students across the division were featured in videos displaying their knowledge of Black history.

Lewis adding the goal for students is to find their voice, whether that be in writing or in public speaking or other methods.

"What we believe is happening in this poetry slam is that students are building confidence because they are competent learners, because they are actualizing what they're learning in the classroom, and we're providing them an opportunity, one of many opportunities to escalate that and to elevate that and to share with other people," Lewis said.

Tucker High School student Sydney Ford won the best overall prize for her piece "Dare to Appropriate my Blackness: I wear."

Courtesy: 8News Photojournalist, Nikkita Tyler

"I spoke from the heart and I wrote it myself, I really like writing," Ford said.

Ford told 8News she wrote her poem based on cultural appropriation and wanted the community to know it is more present than one realizes.

"I read a book recently actually, it's called 'In our Shoes' by Brianna Holt, and I was just surprised [to see] in how many music videos [and in] everyday life it [cultural appropriation] occurs."