08/19/2026
Today's the day 📣 Join us virtually or at Inwood Library TODAY at 4:30pm for the last Talking About Race Matters (TARM) lecture of 2026!
Through guided discussion and dramatic readings of his poetry, poet and actor David Mills will explore how the history of enslavement in New York City inspired his latest poetry collections.
Mills' poetry aims to bring to life the voiceless and frequently nameless in New York City Black history. By way of metaphor and meter, attendees will learn about the history of the oldest slave cemetery in the United States that was located in downtown Manhattan, how the Bronx was the breadbasket for all 13 colonies and the Caribbean throughout the 18th century, and the stories of the first free black community in Queens.
Date: TODAY, Wednesday, August 19, 2026
Time: 4:30pm-6pm
Cost: FREE
RSVP Required? Yes! Virtual and in-person RSVP links in the bio!
Location: Virtual via Zoom and the 2nd Floor Community Room at Inwood Library
Yale cm laude graduate, David Mills is currently a Cullman Center fellow and holds an M.F.A. from Warren Wilson College. He’s published six collections including: Boneyarn (Manhattan slavery poems, winner of the North American Book Award), Unhired Hands (Queens and Massachusetts slavery poems) How the Earth Answers (Bronx slavery poems). He has received fellowships from the New York Foundation for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts, Breadloaf, the American Antiquarian Society, and the Queens Council on the Arts.
