Word Life: A Performance and Conversation on Language, Identity, & Power

Last Friday, I attended The Preemptive Education series' performance and panel discussion on "Word Life," organized by Hip-Hop Theater Festival and Urban Word NYC. The performance was held in Silver Center's theater in room 703, which could have easily been filled with more of us future educators out there.

Three panels were on stage as each of the 3 poems were presented then later analyzed and discussed by one panel per poem.

The poems in order were:

1) Diaspora - about being an African-American woman, struggling with race/ethnicity

2) Switch - about being a homosexual male (See video below)

3) Queen - about living as a beautiful young woman in the city and being objectified by men

Each poem was then analyzed for more in-depth discussion by the panel and the poet(s). There were some very interesting comments during the discussions they had and here were some of the highlights.

• In regarding education and ignorance: "danger is not there to tie us down but it is a prerequisite for courage."


• On the discussion of vulnerability (in performing a highly-disputed piece like Switch): "You have to be willing to be as vulnerable as the students. Students are going to ask questions and push your buttons. Be open to the 'button-pushing.'"


• On the discussion of Queen: "Entertainment industry is very political. There is no 'tabula rasa.' Queens may be queens, but they are still seen as if they are below Kings."


• On language: "The language we have created is used against us to oppress us. So what do we do? I think certain words are worth fighting for and claiming back (like the N word).


• On education: "Teach not by the books but by what you know that your students already know. My teacher brought in Tupac in order to teach Frost. Practice what you preach. Lead by example. This can be the bridge between knowledge I have and the education to be had by others."

As a future educator, I took all of these topics discussed to heart. Hip hop, def poetry/jam, rap, movement, dance... everything that this performance involved helped these students speak out about important, heart-felt issues that they felt passionate about. It was clear that these students began to think differently and began to be proactive and speak up about some of these issues they were so passionate about. If I could have my kids become anything as a teacher, it would be passionate. It was truly inspiring to see these poets/students (and some professional performers) reach out to future educators and other students to show that one's voice can be heard--not when they are loud enough, but when they are passionate enough and heard by enough people who are just as moved.

*** Finally, I thought the second performance piece Switch was extremely powerful. So I found it on Youtube. PLEASE WATCH THIS. The whole thing. The climax happend around 1:50. You will not regret watching it. In fact, you might cry, cringe, or get goose bumps as you watch this powerful piece: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsNGe12Y2r4