Astro Bug

FLINT, Mich. - AstroBug -- The University of Michigan-Flint's Center for Gender and Sexuality will host 13 Full Moons of  Black Dandelion Convergent Voice™on March 19, 2026, at the KIVA Auditorium. This live, interactive webinar and symposium celebrates Women's History Month by exploring the intersections of literacy, wellness, arts, and science.

In 2025 Samara Hough, Director of the Center for Gender and Sexuality, students enthusiastically engaged with the poem Black Dandelion via the City of Flint, Michigan's Literacy Week. "My students created narratives that addressed Sociology Conflict Theory and geoecological problems. They also created literary avatars to symbolize their lives and their condition in their communities. With the backdrop of anti-diversity, equity and inclusion and basic human rights, I've invited Semaj Brown to U of M Flint to engage in her intellectual scholarship. I, and my students desire to shift our consumption from the turmoil of our communities, as we study the blueprint embedded in PSL/Poetry As A Second Language", states Hough.

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Since its inception in 2022, Black Dandelion:Convergent Voice™(BDCV) has evolved from a local initiative in Flint to an integrative educational platform impacting communities from California to Togo, West Africa. This year's symposium builds on the platform's 2025 success with UM-Flint students and its applications across several disciplines highlighting Semaj Brown's groundbreaking innovation that continues to be explored and utilized and studied by educators, sociologists, and social workers globally.

The event will feature prominent local and international speakers who will guide the audience through the origins and practical applications of the Black Dandelion poem.

WHAT: 13 Full Moons of Black Dandelion Convergent Voice
WHEN: Thursday, March 19, 2026 at 12:30 p.m.-3:30 p.m.
WHERE: The KIVA Auditorium, 327 East Kearsley Street, Flint, MI 48503
PURPOSE: In recognition of Women's History Month
COST: FREE

The Flint Chapter of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated is a community partner.

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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. April 7th was named Semaj Brown Day by the City of Flint. Brown is also an award-winning educator and author of the book, Bleeding Fire! Tap the Eternal Spring of Regenerative Light, Broadside Lotus Press. http://www.semajbrown.com