“Language has a way of making things real.” When Jason Reynolds first saw Gordon Parks's Washington, D.C. Government Charwoman (American Gothic) as a teenager, the photograph “stuck to him.” The work features Ella Watson, an African American woman, as she faces the camera head-on with an upside-down broom in hand. Inspired by Watson’s “quiet power” and Gordon Parks's dedication to capturing multifaceted African American life and humanity, Reynolds wrote a new original piece, “Charwoman Interrupted Again.” Reynolds writes to give Ella Watson a voice that directly questions her photographer and larger audience—a voice that asserts its worth and individuality. Watch as Reynolds performs and interprets this poem about labor and legacy. Read Jason's poem here.