"Sepia" by Khamal Iwuanyanwu + Classic Slam Recap

Khamal Iwuanyanwu is a Junior in high school and was one of the stars of The Classic Slam here in Los Angeles. You're about to see why in 5, 4, 3...

And this, from a mama in the audience:

The more I listened, the more I heard a melody of teen voices teaching us about the society we’ve created. It’s not a pretty picture, and their uncensored words don’t go down easy. As a parent in the audience, you just take it on the chin and make a mental note to bring Kleenex. At each performance, however, there are moments… moments of salvation… moments when these kids see past the constant news cycles of gore to remind you: MOST OF THIS WORLD IS BEAUTIFUL, AND PEOPLE LOVE EACH OTHER. Just when you thought humanity had utterly and entirely failed our children, you hear a voice of hope… a voice of forgiveness… a voice of love. For these children still love us despite how we’ve failed them. They are telling us to stop, look, and hear what they have to say. Much of it is beautiful, and all of it is empowering. The Get Lit program empowers the youth of our asphalt jungles to reach past the gutter and find the stars....

For those of you who have teenagers and access to local teen poetry slams, I highly recommend you take a night and witness the fitness. Archer was too young to bring this year but in a couple years, this is going to be an annual pilgrimage for us (girls, too, when they're older) and I can't wait. These kids are my heroes. More video to come... 

Go in, Poets and thanks again to Get Lit, for including me in this year's event. 

GGC