Sankofa.

It’s funny how the tables turn…

I sit here typing from the dormitory of Occidental College on my last night of Brave New Voices. Youth Speaks Organization from the Bay area, Urban Word of New York, Common, Talib Kweli, Rosario Dawson, Beau Sia, and other prominent artists helped make this week possible but what made it amazing was the talent and heart of all the youth who took this time to share their stories with us on the mic. Sometimes facebook status updates are not enough to really keep people in the loop of what is happening in my life, and poetry can’t always express it either. So here goes…

These past couple months have been a huge transformation for me. Incase you were not aware, I put a lot of heart into an organization in Cambodia called Tiny Toones (which I do still have so much love for) but have definitely reshifted my priorities since graduating cum laude from CSU Long Beach this past May. I was criticized for not having the desire to commit the rest of my life in that country in order to make any real progress, and despite the work I put into it from overseas I came to a realization that I. Am. American – and I cannot deny that as much as my roots are in Southeast Asia, the experiences in my life as a 2nd generation womyn of color trying to find her place in this society should not be something I run away from by returning to a land a barely know. Instead, it should be something that I embrace. A tool to be used for others who are in the process of discovery. The next generation that may not have the privilege to return to a land of their great ancestors. And how can we as a lost people, wandering over concrete land while arguing over who is the most oppressed, find our sense of belonging?

Sankofa. Back to your roots. Traveling back to one’s motherland is always a spiritual process by bringing us closure to our identity. Yet not everyone is fortunate enough to gain this spiritual satisfaction because they have been disconnected for so long that all they will ever be is American, or they just don’t have the privilege to do so. But does one always have to travel to the other side of the globe to take it back to our indigenous ways?

In countries that live off of less than $1 a day, one can walk into most villages in rural areas and still see smiles on the faces of people. Compare that to our streets of downtown Los Angeles, where homelessness prevails and crack fiends huddle in lonely corners. This is definitely a generalization since I am not looking up my statistics/and resources, but hear me out for a moment as I reflect on my experiences. How is it that people with barely anything can still find happiness? And as privileged people (because no matter what, if you’re American you are still privileged) why do we find comfort in helping poor communities in third world countries with much less than us when we have shit to deal with here?

Community. This is in no way to criticize the fabulous work others are doing to help less privileged countries, but when we travel to places with much less opportunities there is a greater sense of solidarity amongst the people. Family values override the need to compete. Neighbors are treated as if they share the same bloodline. And villages are formed.

Being at Brave New Voices has showed me that forming villages here is possible. I have met organizers, activists, and artists from all around the nation from communities highly lacking resources for youth development. Yet they still make shit happen!
For example, Tim from New Mexico is a high school English teacher who has committed the past  five years on an Indian reservation. He has been flying out a team of youth here to compete in slam poetry, but it’s less about winning – it’s about them telling their stories as America’s leftovers. Not all of them will be able to go to college. Some will be chosen to stay on the reservation as shamans, healers, storytellers, and other chosen roles passed down by the elders to keep their culture alive. Others who go on to get careers are responsible for returning after their education to help support the community. Team Kansas City‘s coach told me they have one of the highest homicide rates in the nation. His youth know more people in jail than they do college graduates. yet they are able to express the stories happening in their city through spoken word, empowering them in a way where they can can speak about the injustices in their neighborhoods to a larger audience. Team Guam gathered their youth and fundraised to fly out to Los Angeles to tell their story of their overcrowded island that is considered to be a part of American soil yet does not have the privilege to vote. Whole point being, Brave New Voices attracts mostly at-risk youth from everywhere and brings them to a space where they can tell their stories. They rehearse for months for this competition with a collective goal of winning the competition so they can represent their people. And no, they taught me today that competition does not always mean you have to hate one another. All youth come with a politically charged mind and a big heart. When I ask the coaches the techniques they used to improve their writing, performance, and socio-political consciousness, all of them have told me the same thing. “Nothing. I just show up.”

Our young people have stories to tell. They have voices waiting to be heard. Yet what they need is an opportunity to share it. I was blessed this year alongside Timothy Cheung (Big Brother) to have coached a team of four young girls representing the Long Beach/South Bay area of California for the first tim. I can remember 3 months ago one of my youth would cry before performing in front of 20 people. Today she spits with confidence amongst a large crowd of 300 people with topics ranging from Haiti to Down Syndrome. She is one of the many examples of why we must continue our work as artists, educators, activists, and community organizers. We are not here to build professional careers for our young people, but we are giving them the confidence to speak their minds in the face of injustice. Although I have never done slam poetry, the grades given are just a taste of the hits society may give you if they disagree with your words. But speak anyways. Be heard.

Another thing. If $33,000 is invested into every prison inmate per year, and approximately $8,300 for every student – what does it say about our system? What we invest in only grows and with schools being closed down, jobs being lost and jails expanding what is the direction our youth are going? I understand cutting shitty teachers but SHIT, for others of us who can dedicate ourselves to a specific CAUSE and a COMMUNITY – stick with it. And put all of your heart and soul into it because we can’t rely on our institutions to do it for our children.

Ever since I was 4 years old, I always knew I wanted to be an artist of some sort. When I first entered college, I applied under art education and studied it for a year and a half – but I was unhappy painting for 8 hours a day with abstract dialogue and no concrete solutions. I changed my major to Communication and took several Ethnic Studies and Theatre courses. Although I enjoyed the extrovert that Theatre brought out in me, I preferred telling my own stories instead of relying on Shakespeare. I had no idea what I was doing, other than it felt right. At nineteen I learned that there was a whole community doing the same thing, and they called it “spoken word”, which for many (like myself) evolved into hip hop. Now, I feel as if things are falling into place. Today, I sit in a room full of artists educators from all around the nation with the same objective as me – art as a tool for youth development. Art as a weapon for raising socio-political awareness and civic engagement. Art as a means to tap into the heart of young people by helping them realize that YES, it is possible. You are not a failure to society but a leader waiting to emerge.

So I type this, wondering what new steps I must take to expand this village, similar to that of my ancestors. To ensure that like our brothers and sisters in Africa who ask, “And how are the children doing?” in placement of “How is your day?” We can all respond with confidence, “They are doing well, thank you.”

UPDATE:

A day after I typed this blog, I attended the Brave New Voices Conference training after everyone checked out of their rooms. The first thing the facilitator wrote on the board that morning was “Sankofa”. Go back to move forward. Everything was meant to be.