The theme for the 2026 contest was “Dealing with Changes in Black Culture.” MANA asked writers of all ethnicities to submit their work, as diverse perspectives foster better dialogue and deepen understanding.
We learned to move through the thickest of times is a line from Sarno's poem, "Juba Spirit," which describes different dances across time periods that black people enjoyed.
In an interview with The Flint Courier, Sarno said she saw that dances such as the Cha Cha Slide and those from the Harlem Renaissance era all originated from ancestral dances. She also noted that not much has changed about these dances.
"That need to gather, that need to be together, the need for that kind of communication and unity and togetherness in the community has always been with us, even through the worst of times," Sarno told The Flint Courier. "In fact, it may get us through some of the worst of times. That may be what got us through."
Sarno describes poetry as her "solo expression." She said she is very familiar with the works and legacy of poet June Jordan. "I engage in the community as a Poetry Workshop facilitator and use the Revolutionary Blueprint-June Jordan Poetry for the People as a guiding light," Sarno said.
Lisa published her first poetry collection, Grasping at Stars, in 2024. This work was a 2025 Goldie finalist, presented by the Golden Crown Literary Society. Sarno is a member of Voices of the Revolution, a women’s poetry collective based in Lansing, Michigan. The collective published Lisa’s Poems from the Resisterhood in April 2025.
Besides being a poet, Lisa is also a musician and a member of Sometimes Y, an all-women’s rock-and-roll band in Lansing.
Besides being a poet, Lisa is also a musician and a member of Sometimes Y, an all-women’s rock-and-roll band in Lansing.
Go here for Lisa Sarno's entire interview with The Flint Courier.
Now, enjoy “Juba’s Spirit,” the winning submission of MANA’s Black History Month Writers’ Contest below.
Juba's Spirit by Lisa Sarno
Before the bombastic beat boomed
from a click in the machine
rattling the windows along the street,
it was Black skin on dirt.
The slap of a palm on a thigh
the stomp of a foot,
the body strained and contorted
Juba! Juba!
Juba across the dirt-floored Juke Joints,
Juba loud from the belly of housing projects,
Juba busting the Chain Gang into song,
Juba sliding over the slick floors in the Clubs,
Juba alive in Step Shows,
1 Hop this time!
2 Hops this time!
Saggy pants and a fire for running away
to what Momma fears most.
Through the years, the body remembers
where ankles twist, the shaking of shackles
Shoulders roll, letting off the weight of 400 years
we learned to move through the thickest of times
Right foot 2 Stomps!
Left foot 2 Stomps!
Cha Cha, y’all!
Pidgins and creoles fly into existence
across the ship’s galley
language created “off the dome” and
shouted to each other over the sounds
of misery
“Brag-a-licious!” Juba Spirit says
“I See You In this Strange Land”
“What up, Doh?”
The spit and the strut and the resistance of
it all
Slide to the left!
Slide to the right!
The fictive nature of our blood clan
as we remember being locked and yoked
40 wide and 2 deep.
Teeth bared, lips stretched, nostrils flared
Same hunger in the shuffle
Same fire in the flex
Just a different name for Freedom
We dance and the walls sweat with rebellion
Juba's Spirit by Lisa Sarno
Before the bombastic beat boomed
from a click in the machine
rattling the windows along the street,
it was Black skin on dirt.
The slap of a palm on a thigh
the stomp of a foot,
the body strained and contorted
Juba! Juba!
Juba across the dirt-floored Juke Joints,
Juba loud from the belly of housing projects,
Juba busting the Chain Gang into song,
Juba sliding over the slick floors in the Clubs,
Juba alive in Step Shows,
1 Hop this time!
2 Hops this time!
Saggy pants and a fire for running away
to what Momma fears most.
Through the years, the body remembers
where ankles twist, the shaking of shackles
Shoulders roll, letting off the weight of 400 years
we learned to move through the thickest of times
Right foot 2 Stomps!
Left foot 2 Stomps!
Cha Cha, y’all!
Pidgins and creoles fly into existence
across the ship’s galley
language created “off the dome” and
shouted to each other over the sounds
of misery
“Brag-a-licious!” Juba Spirit says
“I See You In this Strange Land”
“What up, Doh?”
The spit and the strut and the resistance of
it all
Slide to the left!
Slide to the right!
The fictive nature of our blood clan
as we remember being locked and yoked
40 wide and 2 deep.
Teeth bared, lips stretched, nostrils flared
Same hunger in the shuffle
Same fire in the flex
Just a different name for Freedom
We dance and the walls sweat with rebellion
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