In Testimony for the first time young African-Americans across the country express their own understandings of their generation's shared experiences - from racism in school to the politics of hair. One student considers the dynamics between Black men and women as he explores his own relationships; another writes of her decision to attend a women's college and the importance of women role models in her development.

Others discuss the influence of Malcolm X and the impact of the Rodney King verdict on their lives. Through their compelling poetry and prose these student writers claim identities from fragmented lives, embrace themselves, and resurrect their spirits.