I stumbled upon this on the web and found all five of these essays to be amazing. I figured that some other African-American poets (and maybe poets of other races, too) may find these to be interesting reads, so I am sharing. Enjoy.
Brothers in Verse: Five Essays on Black Masculinity in American Poetry
http://pbq.drexel.edu/archives/issues/issue75/content/verse/index.html
To Make a Man - Camille Dungy
http://pbq.drexel.edu/archives/issues/issue75/content/verse/man.html
Meditation on a Black Male Poetic - Tyehimba Jess
http://pbq.drexel.edu/archives/issues/issue75/content/verse/meditation.html
Maybe You should be an Emcee: Black Poetry as Has-Been Protest - Adrian Matejka
http://pbq.drexel.edu/archives/issues/issue75/content/verse/emcee.html
A Way of No Way: Toward Constructing a Black Male Poetic - Gregory Pardlo
http://pbq.drexel.edu/archives/issues/issue75/content/verse/away.html
Masters and Master Works - Afaa M. Weaver
http://pbq.drexel.edu/archives/issues/issue75/content/verse/masters.html