The Undefeated

Originally performed for ESPN's "The Undefeated" by author Kwame Alexander and illustrator Kadir Nelson is a picture book poem as a kind of love letter to black life in the United States. It highlights the unspeakable trauma of slavery, the faith and fire of the civil rights movement, and the grit, passion, and perseverance of some of the world's greatest heroes. The text is also peppered with references to the words of Martin Luther King, Jr., Langston Hughes, Gwendolyn Brooks, and others.