Ritten 1

Leslie Ritten

Dr. Mark Janzen

Education/Interpretation at Museums - 6304

April 12, 2023

Program Plan II

Title of Program:
Learn to Craft Meaningful Blackout Poems Virtually Through the Lens of Race Relations Past
and Present: Led by Atlantan poet and Instagram sensation John Carroll, author of Make
Blackout Poetry.

Marketing:
Advertise program on the Atlanta History Center website, Facebook and Instagram pages.
Contact local bookstores such as Lucian in Buckhead, A Cappella Books in Inman Park or Tall
Tales Books in Toco Hills and ask them to display a flyer that could be sent electronically.

Audience:
This program would be appropriate for 10-12 adults who are interested in creating blackout
poetry through the lens of race relations past and present.

Budget:
Ideally it would be terrific if John Carroll would donate his time to host two 45-minute sessions.
Some poets charge anywhere from $1500 and upwards. Applying for a grant from the Poetry
Foundation may be an option if John Carroll charges a fee. The Poetry Foundation provides
support for, “cultivating and engaging new, diverse audiences for poetry, fostering new
collaborations and partnerships, as well as innovation and new technologies in the field”. 1The
participants would be asked to pay a fee of $35-$50 depending on age (students and over 65
would be less).

Program Duration & Alignment of Program with Atlanta History Center Strategic Plan:
Learn to Craft Meaningful Blackout Poems will be presented virtually in two 45-minute
weeknight sessions preferably one week apart. In keeping with the strategic plan set forth by the
AHC, this program would further “connect people, culture, and history to cultivate
understanding of our shared history”.2
1
“Grants,” Poetry Foundation (Poetry Foundation), accessed April 8, 2023,
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/grants.
2
Atlanta History Center Guiding Documents 2021-2026, Accessed April 8, 2023,
https://www.atlantahistorycenter.com/about-us/governance/.
 Ritten 2

Scope and Sequence of Program:

Learn to Craft Meaningful Blackout Poems Virtually Through the Lens of Race Relations Past
and Present will provide a way to explore race relations by creating simple meaningful poetry.
Often people need another outlet besides talking and sharing posts on social media to express
how they feel about powerful issues. Participating in a virtual workshop allows a group of
strangers to get in touch with their thoughts in a semi-anonymous environment and further
discover a new medium to gain perspective.

Program Content & Timeline:

Preparation by participant for Session I:

The AHC will send a welcome letter after the participant enrolls which includes the link to the
session and provides instructions to prepare for the class.

 Participants should read the two stories posted on the Atlanta History Center Website:
“Riot or Massacre: How One Word Changes Perspective” 3
“Atlanta’s Berlin Wall” 4

 Print the original newspaper articles that were included in the above stories. (See Below)

3
Serena McCracken, “Riot or Massacre: How One Word Changes Perspective,” Atlanta History Center, December
22, 2022, https://www.atlantahistorycenter.com/blog/riot-or-massacre-how-one-word-changes-perspective/.
4
Lois Carlisle, “Atlanta's Berlin Wall,” Atlanta History Center, May 14, 2021,
https://www.atlantahistorycenter.com/blog/atlantas-berlin-wall/.
 Ritten 3

From: Keowee Courier, Pickens, South Carolina, page 4, October 24, 1906.
Ritten 4
 Ritten 5

Session 1

0- 15 Minutes:
The AHC moderator will make sure John Carroll is able to connect and then open up the meeting
to the participants. The moderator will welcome the participants to the meeting and ask for
people to keep their microphones on mute and introduce them to the raise hand icon, as well as
the chat feature.

John Carroll will be introduced, and the other participants will be asked to introduce themselves
and share one reason why they enrolled in the class. Then the session will begin with John
Carroll explaining how he started his career and how he uses this form of poetry today. The
moderator can screen share some of his poems and ones that have been posted to his Instagram
account.

15-30 Minutes:
John Carroll will ask the participants to look at the two newspaper articles that were connected to
the readings above. He will screen share the article associated with “Riot or Massacre: How One
Word Changes Perspective”. People will be encouraged to share their impressions or feelings
before John would craft a poem from the article for people to experience his process. The last
three minutes would be open for questions.

30-40 Minutes:
Now the participants will be asked to create their own blackout poem using the article associated
with the article “Atlanta’s Berlin Wall”. After about six minutes, participants would be
encouraged to screen share their own poetry for feedback by Mr. Carroll.

40-45 Minutes:
John Carroll will ask the participants to choose an article, reading or something in print from the
past year that touches upon race and create their own blackout poem for the next class. Questions
will be answered, and the class will be sent a follow up email detailing the assignment. In
addition, participants will be asked to send the AHC moderator a copy of their article and their
blackout poem a day ahead of the class so it can be scanned and screen shared for the next class.

5
John Carroll, [@MakeBlackoutPoetry], 2023, Assessed April 8, 2023,
https://www.instagram.com/makeblackoutpoetry
 Ritten 6

Preparation for Session II

As mentioned in the above session, participants should create their own blackout poem for next
meeting. An email will be sent two days before Session II reminding individuals to submit their
article and scanned copy of their poem.

Session II

0-5 Minutes:

The group will be welcomed back by the AHC moderator and John Carroll will be thanked again
for participating. Mr. Carroll will begin the asking individuals their thoughts on crafting their
own poem.

5-40 Minutes:

Each individual’s poem will be displayed on screen by the AHC moderator. The poem will be
read aloud by its author. Then the article will be displayed, and the author can discuss how they
came across the information and how and why they chose their particular words and design.
Lastly Mr. Carroll could share a few comments, as well as other participants. Ideally it would be
terrific if each person could take three minutes to present and receive feedback.

40-45 Minutes:

The AHC moderator would thank John Carroll and all the participants. In addition, additional
events both virtual and in person would be marketed. Lastly, participants would be encouraged to
fill out a brief survey they will be receiving the following day concerning the program.

Evaluation of Entire Program:

Evaluating this two-part program will be done primarily through observation and discussion of
both sessions and reviewing the survey information. Participant’s enthusiasm, completed poems
and participation will be assessed. If the final poems were lackluster, the program may want to
change the theme of race relations and choose a more upbeat topic.

In regard to the survey, a brief questionnaire would be sent out that did not take a tremendous
amount of time to complete. Some of the questions would be:

 How did you learn about the program?

 Did you find the program easy to navigate?
 Did you feel prepared for each session?

After collecting the data from both the moderator and John Carroll and from the participants, the
program can be modified to meet different audience needs.
 Ritten 7

Bibliography

Atlanta History Center Guiding Documents 2021-2026.

https://www.atlantahistorycenter.com/about-us/governance/.

Carlisle, Lois. “Atlanta's Berlin Wall.” Atlanta History Center, May 14, 2021.
https://www.atlantahistorycenter.com/blog/atlantas-berlin-wall/.

Carroll, John. [@MakeBlackoutPoetry], 2023, Assessed April 8, 2023.

https://www.instagram.com/makeblackoutpoetry.

“Grants.” Poetry Foundation. Poetry Foundation. Accessed April 8, 2023.

https://poetryfoundation.org/grants.

McCracken, Serena. “Riot or Massacre: How One Word Changes Perspective.” Atlanta History
Center, December 22, 2022. https://www.atlantahistorycenter.com/blog/riot-or-massacre-
how-one-word-changes-perspective/.