Students use poetry to talk about culture

Lyrical sounds and sing-song rhythms bellowed from the depths of their souls. "Spoken word," or simply poetry, an expressive art form in African-American culture, rang throughout the Willkie Auditorium Friday night.\nThe purpose of the poetry slam and "rap battle" was to encourage participants to talk about issues such as positive black role models, the black experience, activism and the "power of one," according to a flier from the CommUnity Education Program, a group that promotes diversity awareness in residence halls.\nCommUnity Education Program staff member Stephanie Philips, who facilitated the program, talked about the inspiration behind the poetry slam and rap battle.\n"The programming was tied in with the 'power of one,' the theme for the Martin Luther King Jr. celebration, which is basically challenging us to understand each other and learn together, to solve social ills," Philips said.\nShe said her main goal was to allow people to feel comfortable talking about their experiences and understand the overall importance of expression, regardless of race.\n"I would hope that participants got a better idea of what it means to be black in America," Philips said. "I think we observed a lot through the different performers that everyone has his or her own experiences to share and we can all learn from that, regardless of our background."\nSome of the performers talked about the poetry and rap they performed on stage. Some talked about personal experiences; others spoke about social change.\nAmber Daniel, a freshman in apparel merchandising, read a poem called "Darkness."\n"The poem challenges nursery rhymes for kids from back in the day, which said it wasn't good to be black," she said. \nDaniel said the poem is about empowerment and honoring her African origin.\nTrinette Mumford, a senior in recreational sports management, read a poem called "Why am I Black?"\n"It's supposed to be a prayer," she said. "(It's) asking God why can't we all be the same color."\nOther participants spoke about varied topics such as self-empowerment, politics and love.\nJunior Steve Gaskin performed a rap song he wrote called, "The World is Cold and my Friends are Few," about empowerment and overcoming adversity.\nFreshman Edward Watters questioned the reasons for the war in Iraq in his poem, "I am here now."\nWilliam Nichols III, a freshman studying religion, read a poem titled "That Smile," about a girl from his hometown who he hadn't met until he came to IU.\nTyrone Allen, a safety and health management graduate student, said that he liked the program because it was lively and light-hearted.\n"I thought there were going to be a lot more people but I know it's Friday," he said. "But overall I was satisfied with the program"