Adult Literacy Programs
Verses: The Adult literacy lessons you didn't learn in English class
Join the Neville Empowerment Network, Inc. on a journey through literature exploring and analyzing the works of literary icons you may not have learned about in public school. These adult literacy lessons are designed to be engaging, inspiring, real, relatable, and relvant.
Facilitator, Ms. Neville, MAEd
Langston Hughes
August 20th - EVENT HAS PAST
Who Was Langston Hughes?
Langston Hughes published his first poem in 1921. He attended Columbia University, but left after one year to travel. A leading light of the Harlem Renaissance, Hughes published his first book in 1926. He went on to write countless works of poetry, prose and plays, as well as a popular column for the Chicago Defender.
W. E. B. DuBois
September 24th
Who Was W.E.B. Du Bois?
Scholar and activist W.E.B. Du Bois became the first African American to earn a Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1895. He wrote extensively and was the best-known spokesperson for African American rights during the first half of the 20th century. Du Bois co-founded the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1909.
Zora Neale Hurston
October 15th
Who Was Zora Neale Hurston?
Zora Neale Hurston became a fixture of New York City's Harlem Renaissance, due to her novels like Their Eyes Were Watching God and shorter works like "Sweat." She was also an outstanding folklorist and anthropologist who recorded cultural history, as illustrated by her Mules and Men. Hurston died in poverty in 1960, before a revival of interest led to posthumous recognition of her accomplishments.
Gil Scott-Heron
November 12th
Who was Gil Scott-Heron?
Poet, novelist, musician, and songwriter Gil Scott-Heron was born in Chicago, Illinois on April 1, 1948 to parents Bobbie Scott Heron, a librarian, and Giles (Gil) Heron, a Jamaican professional soccer player. He grew up in Lincoln, Tennessee and the Bronx, New York, where he attended DeWitt Clinton High School. Heron attended Lincoln University in Pennsylvania and received an M.A. in creative writing from Johns Hopkins University.
Audre Lorde
December 17th
Who Was Audre Lorde?
Audre Lorde attended Hunter College and Columbia University and was a librarian for several years before publishing her first volume of poetry, First Cities, in 1968. More successful collections followed, including From a Land Where Other People Live (1973) and The Black Unicorn (1978). Lorde also wrote the memoirs The Cancer Journals (1980) and A Burst of Light (1988).