Preface ; The Harlem Renaissance ; Poetry form --
Part I: Heritage. Whatever / by Nikki Grimes [N.G.] --
Heritage / by Mae V. Cowdery --
I am not proud / by Helene Johnson --
Having my say / by N.G. --
I sit and sew / by Alice Dunbar-Nelson --
Room for dreams / by N.G. --
Joy / by Clarissa Scott Delany --
Leah's reunion / by N.G. --
Dusk / by Angelina Weld Grimké --
Jehovah's gesture / by Gertrude Parthenia McBrown --
Part II: Earth Mother. Earth, I thank you / by Anne Spencer --
Sweet sister / by N.G. --
Rondeau / by Jessie Redmon Fauset --
Tara takes on Montclair / by N.G. --
1975 / by Anne Spencer --
Of Earth / by Mae V. Cowdery --
At the spring dawn / by Angela Weld Grimké --
Autumn evening / by Ida Rowland --
Strength training / by N.G. --
Part III: Taking Notice. Unseen / by Gertrude Parthenia McBrown --
Taking notice / by N.G. --
Flag salute / by Esther Popel --
A mother's lament / by N.G. --
The bronze legacy (to a brown boy) / by Effie Lee Newsome --
Like an eagle / by N.G. --
Your world / by Georgia Douglas Johnson --
Mother to daughter / by N.G. --
Four walls / by Blanche Taylor Dickinson --
What girls can do / by N.G. --
Prelude / by Lucy Ariel Williams --
Advice / by Gwendolyn Bennett --
Journey's end / by N.G. --
Resources. Poet biographies ; Artist biographies ; Acknowledgments ; Sources ; Index.