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Sanchez’s commitment to civil rights and the improved quality of life for African Americans permeates her work. Her interest in poetic expression to effect change began as early as six while she was under the care of her maternal grandmother. Her interest in verse continued through to college, when she took creative writing classes, and later postgraduate work at New York University, where she studied with Louise Bogan. Her poetic expressions during the 1960s gave voice to the turbulence of the time and the unjust treatment that was pervasive in the black community. Sanchez was an influential member of the Civil Rights Movement and the Black Arts Movement. While serving as an active member of the Congress for Racial Equality (CORE), Sanchez met Malcolm X. She learned a lot about language from Malcolm X through his direct and truthful approach, later applying that knowledge to her poetry. Sanchez has published numerous works of poetry that address social and political concerns impacting civil rights and the quality of life for African Americans.

Lean’tin L. Bracks