As a non-profit whose mission
statement is to supports diverse communities of limited means, the youth we
serve come from varied backgrounds. But our primary clientele would be
characterized as East African Muslim immigrants and/or refugees. An outsider
would take one look at our High School Leadership program and assume all the
hijabs and long black dresses equate conservatism and intolerance. Within
minutes of talking to these beautiful young women, an outsider would realize
their gross misconception.
A few
weeks ago, YELS was offered the chance to take the high school group to the
ArtsCorps Youth Speaks Annual All-City Poetry Slam. Spoken word is a genre of poetry
that first emerged during the Harlem Renaissance, designed as an evocative medium
in which opinions, feelings and life-experiences are emoted through a mic to a
rapt audience. Often dealing with culturally-conformed “taboo” subjects such as
religion, sexuality, gender and politics, spoken word is a vehicle of
discussion and debate.
The
evening began with a trip to MOD Pizza and a waterfall of sticky-sweet soda
pop, watching ComicCon attendees walking
past and discussing their costumes (or lack-there-of). With caffeine-induced
energy running high, we walked to Town Hall and took our seats in the
cathedral-style theater.
One of
the first poets on stage was a young woman whose appearance incited a flurry of
clapping and whispers from our group. Turns out, she was a former student at
their school, and, to their delight, her first poem was about her hijab. The
cheers and screams from our section spread throughout the room, bringing people
to their feet as she explained “No it’s not a towel”.
Her
final poem was a tongue-in-cheek “Letter to Rush Limbaugh”.
“Dear Mr.Limbaugh. You ask if
Muslims are inherently violent? There are 1.6 billion of us in the world. Trust
me, you’d know.” “All you really need is a hug”
The standing ovation started with us.
Next up
was a gender-queer youth talking about their relationships. Very quietly, one of
our youth leaned over and asked “Is he a she?” using the correct pronouns
without thought. Upon confirmation, she leaned back and continued to clap and
cheer.
Rape,
sex, drugs, gender-queer, religion, love and hate came pouring out of these
young people’s mouths, told to the beat of their hearts and punctuated by
silence, snapping and applause.
By the
end of the evening, YELS youth were enraptured. They couldn’t stop talking
about it. All of it, even the subjects that would be characterized as taboo and
off-limits for the über-religious. A few weeks later, they still talk about it
as one of their favorite nights. Like, ever.
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