Philadelphians exist in a long lineage of resistance — against the status quo, forces of racial oppression, and class supremacy. But the truth of resistance is often lost in the retelling, in the erasures, reframing, mythmaking, and fabrications that are created to quell change. Overreporting of violent protestors, underreporting of police aggression, and headlines like “Buildings Matter, Too” are ways that storytelling can be used to undermine resistance.
In this free two-hour workshop, we will explore the headlines that shaped the massive national uprisings of 2020 and essays from How We Stay Free: Notes on Black Uprising that tell a different, more nuanced story of community care and revolution. Participants will be introduced to the glosa and cento writing techniques, using erroneous headlines or lines from misleading news articles to craft their own short essays on resistance.
This Power to the Pen program is presented by Blue Stoop in collaboration with TILT Institute, in response to the How We Stay Free exhibition and publication of How We Stay Free: Notes on Black Uprising by Fajr Muhammad and Christopher R. Rogers. The publication and the sequel, My City Need Something: Portraits and Prose for Black Existence by karim brown and Christopher R. Rogers, will be for sale at the workshop.
Blue Stoop is an organization dedicated to nurturing an inclusive literary community by creating pathways to access writing education, inspiration, and professional support, and celebrating Philadelphia’s rich writing tradition.
Participation is limited. Please register online here.
Instructor Biography
Nicole G. Young is a writer whose non-fiction work has been featured in Elle, YES!, Vox, SEEN, Scalawag, and Bitch magazines. She is a part of the editorial team of Jacaranda Books, working to bring a non-fiction book series on Black American culture to life. She was selected as an Aspen Summer Words Emerging Writers Fellow in 2023, attended the 2024 Tin House Summer Workshop, and received the 2024 Alonzo Davis Fellowship at The Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. Nicole previously served as a writer at The African American Policy Forum, co-host of the Kidlit These Days and Worth Noting podcasts, and contributing editor for Book Riot Media. In addition to her freelance non-fiction writing, Nicole is dreaming up fantastical worlds for middle grade and young adult readers in her fiction novels and short stories.
How We Stay Free — April 9 – June 27, 2026
