EDITOR'S NOTE: Readers may find words in this new poem to be disturbing, but they are real, reflections of South Carolina's racist past and present.
The poem by S.C. Poet Laureate Marjory Wentworth uses the words of two men connected in South Carolina history by repugnant acts of racism, subjugation, violence and disregard for human life.
The verses arrange direct quotes from the writings of slavery supporter John C. Calhoun and white nationalist Dylann Roof — penned more than 150 years apart, "as if they are speaking to each other across the centuries," Wentworth told us. The poem can be read vertically or horizontally.
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