Institutions of slavery and racism attempted to silence generations of African Americans. However, oral history became a means of maintaining identity, surviving, and resisting oppression and exploitation, as well as a tool for achieving freedom. Through oral history people told personal stories and reflections, and offered African Americans a platform from which to define experiences and viewpoints apart from racist constructions.

Today much of the African American tradition of oral history is shared through what we know as Spoken Word. The artistic use of the spoken word in African American culture today draws on and echoes a rich literary and musical heritage. Spoken Word in the African American culture has always found its inspiration through music. The writers of the Harlem Renaissance period were inspired by the blues and African American spirituals; and today spoken word is inspired by hip-hop, jazz, and poets like Langston Hughes, Maya Angelou, and Nikki Giovanni. The metaphor, alliteration, rhythm, and wordplay used in spoken word today is inspired by the same phenomenal aforementioned poets.

Through poetry the tradition of Oral history is strong and well alive. You will find many spoken word venues in cites and towns all over the United States where people gather day in and day out to share in the beauty of spoken word. Some artists are well known, while others are relatively new to the art. The audience is often filled with poets and those who love them.

There is an atmosphere that is like no other when you enter the Spoken Word venue of your choice; and depending on where you go, you may find it a little different than the last one you attended. No matter what the atmosphere, your spoken word experience will be something that you will not soon forget.

There is a beauty of Spoken Word that leaves it mark on not just the poet but those to whom he for. It says more than the word ever could. It actually brings the words to life and gives them more meaning.

If you have never experienced the beauty of poetry shared through the power of this artistic form, be encouraged to find a spot in your town and check out the phenomenon that is Spoken Word.