The Say More Poetic Society uses the power of spoken word and poetry to explore Black history and local arts, celebrating figures like James Baldwin and local “poetry slam” masters. They are participating in the program to build staff capacity in storytelling and digital curation, moving from traditional archives toward active, co-created digital and oral histories.

By learning new community-engagement models, the society hopes to make their services more culturally responsive to the needs of Irvington’s long-time residents and activists. They plan to use historical exploration to foster intergenerational connections, grounding their work in the community’s lived experiences and local context.