Power & Glory: Brothers on the Journey

What is it to be a man? What qualities define manhood?

Dr. Harriet Insignares remembers when young men of her generation were taken under wing by people like her father and shown how to reach manhood in a purposeful, productive, unfaltering way. Those young men learned how to reach their potential and not get snared in the devastating traps of gangs, drugs, and crime.

Insignares has seen the troubling statistics about young African American men alongside other young men and is raising her voice, calling to action those who can help reduce the startling statistics. Men, she says, must understand that they are central to each other’s success and to the development of each generation.

“Only half of black men age 16 to 24 who are out of school are employed at any given time. Thirty to 50 percent of these men will not finish high school. About one-third will spend time in prison before their 35th birthday. Among high school dropouts, the majority will be incarcerated.”
National Urban League’s The State of Black America 2005

It’s time to change these statistics. It’s time for men—young and old, rich and poor of all ethnicities, professions, and religions—to come together and reach out to today’s young men and provide moral support, guidance, and encouragement.

“The inspiration for the book comes from the life of my father,” Insignares said, “and the way he approached the many roles men must play that define manhood: husband, father, son, brother, friend, mentor, colleague, citizen, and leader. I wrote this book to honor my father.”

Insignares wants to revive the conversation between the generations and create a bond, a sense of mutual investment. She wants young men to be exposed to the experience and wisdom of an older generation. “I hope that men will see themselves as ‘every father,’ the ‘universal fathers’ who will invest time, talent, and resources to improve the prospects for young men.”

Poetry is the language Insignarres has chosen for her call to action because, as she says, “Art communicates; it can reach us on levels that conversation and speeches cannot.” She believes the art of poetry can bridge gaps and break down walls between young and old so that lines of communication are established and fewer young men fall through the cracks.

Harriet Insignares can see the new day—can you?

Author Bio

Since 1977, Dr. Harriet Bias-Insignares has served the state of Tennessee as its Official State Poet and Arts Advocate under the title Tennessee’s Ambassador of Letters. To honor her for her many years of service to the people of Tennessee through poetry, Insignares was named the first Poet Laureate of Nashville.

A graduate of Fisk University, the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, and George Peabody College of Vanderbilt University, Insignares has been an educator for more than forty years. She has taught English as a Second Language, Rhetoric and Public Address, Theatre, and Journalism.

Awards in Education:
TSU Outstanding Teacher Award
TSU Foundation Scholars Award
TSU National Broadcasting Society Journalism Teacher of the Year Award
Consortium of Doctors Trailblazer Award
Society of Professional Journalists’ David L. Eshelman Award

Insignares started writing poetry in earnest following the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and Bobby Kennedy. In her role as Tennessee’s state poet she has written poetry honoring men and women like Al Gore, Colin Powell, and Eartha Kitt, as well as groups like The National Urban League and the Negro Ensemble Company.

Awards in Poetry:
Society of Poets International Poet of Merit Medallion
Phyllis Wheatley Poetry Award
Alpha Kappa Alpha Award for Contributions to American Literature
Tennessee Governor’s Spotlight Award for Contributions to the Arts

In addition to these awards, Insignares has also been recognized for the Desert Storm Poetry Memorial she created. The memorial is the first poetry memorial to the military in the nation. For her efforts she received the Adjutant General’s Distinguished Patriot Medallion, for “singular sacrifice and commitment to sustaining the pride and patriotism of our armed forces.”

Dr. Harriet Bias-Insignares decided to collect her poems in this volume after the death of her father in 2006. She lives in Nashville with her husband and is the mother of four children.