Flint, Michigan to Kick-off A Specialized National Literacy Week with Their Poet Laureate Semaj Brown

FLINT, Mich. - EntSun -- Mayor Sheldon Neeley, and Flint City Council president, Dr. Ladel Lewis are formally announcing The Black Dandelion: Convergent Voice™City of Flint Literacy Week  (BDCVCOFLW) during National Poetry Month, April 2025. Semaj Brown, Flint's Poet Laureate internationally recognized for creating an integrative-literacy education platform from her poem Black Dandelion, will be recognized for her breaking work that has proven to expand literacy capacity, increase critical thinking skills, and build self-esteem via public presentation through a Social Emotional Equitable Learning lens among the children of Flint, and beyond.

"Semaj Brown is a literary visionary. Her passion for poetry and working with young scholars is unmatched. She uses poetry to educate, connect, and ignite the imagination of the next generation of leaders," states Dr. Ladel Lewis.

More on EntSun News

• Your Body Isn't Broken—It's Out of Balance: The New Book Revealing the Blueprint to Restore Hormone Balance, Sleep, Gut & Metabolic Health
• Youth Take the Lead: Kopp Foundation for Diabetes Hosts "By Youth, For Youth, With T1D" Gala on October 8 at Blue Bell Country Club
• Green Office Partner Named #1 Best Place to Work in Chicago by Crain's for 2025
• CCHR, a Mental Health Watchdog Organization, Hosts Weekly Events Educating Citizens on Important Mental Health Issues
• Goat Skin Chicago Partners With Inkdnylon Custom Apparel to Strengthen Brand Growth

The proclamation of The Black Dandelion: Convergent Voice™ City of Flint Literacy Week will formally take place on April 7, 2025 at the Flint City Dome, at 10 a.m.

The week-long celebration will put the Black Dandelion: Convergent Voice™(BDCV) integrative  multimedia education platform into effect. The week will be filled with activities involving the arts and Open Mics, while uplifting the goal of literacy. There will be "Gather and Grow" professional and student presentations, and activities for both the young, and those young at heart. The city-wide games and puzzles are integrated into the activities, making learning a fun intergenerational experience.

The sponsoring Institutions of the week-long festivities are: City of Flint/CVIPI, Genesee Health System, and Molina Healthcare.

The partnering institutions are: Flint Institute of Arts; Gloria Coles Flint Public Library; RxKIDS; Pierians, Inc. Flint; MSO Michigan State Zeta Organization; MCTE- Michigan Council of Teachers of English; University of Michigan-Flint (Selected Departments); Broadside Lotus Press; Insideout Literary Arts; Family Services Contra Costa County, CA; and as collaborators Mott Warsh Gallery home to the Mott Warsh Collection, and more.

More on EntSun News

• "Leading From Day One: The Essential Guide for New Supervisors" Draws from 25+ Years of International Management Experience
• New Slotozilla Project Explores What Happens When the World Goes Silent
• Valhallan Esports Training Wekiva Springs Celebrates One-Year Anniversary with Open House Event
• Sunja Danette Joins Dear Black Woman Media Family with Stage Play Overcomer
• The Two Faces of Charles D. Braun: How the Novel, Posthumously Yours, Came to Life

All the activities for the Black Dandelion: Convergent Voice™ City of Flint Literacy Week are FREE of charge to the public. Community groups that would like to participate in the BDCVCOFLW, or to host their own, email: contact@semajbrown.com for information and deadlines.

About Semaj Brown: She is Flint, Michigan's inaugural Poet Laureate and the recipient of the Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellowship Award, 2021. Semaj was Visiting Artist/Educator/Editor at The Flint Institute of Arts, Art School, 2023. She is the recipient of the 2024 Poetry Foundation Poetry Programs, Partnerships and Innovation Grant. In 2025, the recipient of the Community Violence Intervention and Prevention Initiative Grant for Black Dandelion. Brown is also an award-winning educator and author of the book, Bleeding Fire! Tap the Eternal Spring of Regenerative Light, Broadside Lotus Press. An excerpted recording of Brown reading her poem, Black Dandelion is highlighted in the national AT&T Dream in Black, Black Future Makers Afrofuturistic Lifestyle television commercial.