Words Unburden Me

"We are survivors reclaiming our strength, honoring our ancestors, and rising to our goals." -from the foreword by Maria Isa, Boricua singer, songwriter, actress, rapper, activist, youth worker, and international recording artist

Words Unburden Me is a collection of writing by ninth-grade English Language Learners from South High School in Minneapolis, in partnership with 826 MSP. Written in the weeks just before the COVID-19 pandemic, and just a few months before the murder of George Floyd, these collected poems and essays both celebrate and critique the complex multicultural neighborhoods of South Minneapolis. This book also includes three hours of lesson plans so that other students can explore themes of history, power, and identity for themselves.

In English, Spanish, Somali, Amharic, Oromo, and Hmong, the young authors featured in Words Unburden Me find the words that can guide us in these uncertain times.

"Are you human? Are you sure? OK. Then we all have families. Some we choose, some we were born into, and some of us are still searching, but we all come from family at some point. Love is what makes families, families." -Khalid Wadi