"We are vessels of speech, we are the repositories which harbor secrets many centuries old... without us the names of kings would vanish from oblivion, we are the memory of mankind; by the spoken word we bring to life the deeds and exploits of kings for younger generations. History holds no mystery for us; we teach to the vulgar just as much as we want to teach them, for it is we who keep the keys..." - The Words of The Mali Griot Mamadou Kouyate, Quoted in D.T. Niane, Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali 1217-1237
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Bread & Roses Worker's Opera STL Public Radio Interview
Rustbelt Performance of "Songs of Songhai" as featured on Button Poetry
Live Reading of "The Greatest Americans" inspired by Saul Williams's "Bloodletting"
WU-SLam Grand Slam Winning Performance of "The Boy Who Cried Nigger"
Poetry Video of "These Streets Abandoned" at Elite Blendz Barbershop
Youth-Written Script "Change" from PPA Winter Showcase
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pictures below
*Image of a 'lyrical mural' prepared by an inmate of the St. Louis Justice Center; contains original writing (African continent), pencil shadings, crayon and colored pencil work. Inmate developed and dedicated the work to me during my "Right to Express" Prison Performing Arts class-- in discussion of a fully envisioned 'Liberation Ideology.'
*Image of a series of workshops conducted at schools in Nepal. This one is of the boys at Nepal Orphan's Home. I read some of my work at their request, after which we had an open discussion about art as a survival tactic in a global context.
*Image of two graduated seniors from the Kirkwood High School team as well as Kirkwood High School English teacher Dominic Pioter. We are collectively holding all of the Kirkwood first place titles in succession, during my time as a teaching artist there.
*Image of a rap duet developed with 10 yr. old at New City Fellowship South church. Working one-on-one brought his behavior issues to an end. Through our partnership, he excitedly performed a piece about losing a friend to gun violence in front of several of his peers and many adults at the church summer program.
*Image of a collaborative writing workshop held in the Service Employees International Union with ShowMe15 organizers as participants. This is one of several break out writing sessions for the Bread & Roses Missouri Worker's Opera. Organizer Joan Suarez, Theatre Maestro Agnes Wilcox, and Labor Historian Rosemary Feurer onlook.
*Image of my performance/stage setup for Fear Not The Revolution - over 100 people attended to hear poetry on a Wednesday night at the Coliseum. In lieu of a senior thesis, I decided to produce, promote, and headline my own poetry show. Community activists Zaki Baruti, Melvin White, and Olajuwon Ali gave speeches. Artists Aimee Le, Gerald Jackson, Loren D, and Louis Conphliction performed.
for further documentation, please visit 'http://www.facebook.com/freemanworldpeace'