DescriptionMany scholars and historians have professed that America’s “original sin” is slavery and that the nation has moved slowly, and at times stubbornly, towards repentance and atonement for this sin. Even after the emancipation of blacks in America, the scars of racism remain. Throughout the centuries, there have been a number of slave revolts, rebellions and race riots that have reddened America’s soil. In Riot is a volume of poetry that examines these riots, most specifically the race riots of the 20th century from the 1906 riot of Atlanta to the 1992 LA riots. The events of these riots are told through the voice of a collective “We,” which may be interpreted as the voice of a people who participated or suffered in these riots. Martin Luther King said, “A riot is the language of the unheard.” But in In Riot we hear their actual thoughts and justifications for rebellion. Each riot is dealt with in its own section but pieced together to create a long narrative or “epic” poem. Each section opens with a brief overview of the time and place the riots occurred. The reader is then introduced to a number of characters who help tell the story; some of these characters are actual historical figures that played a central role in the riot or its causes. The second section of the volume deals with other issues of race and racism in America from injustices of the criminal justice system to poverty, gentrification and the destructive nature of dangerous stereotypes in the media and popular culture of black violence and criminality.