On Monday March 18, the Youth Speaks literary arts organization will engage in its annual Bringing the Noise for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a gathering of some of the Bay Area’s brightest talents – and a truly magical event, in every way possible. The showcase, celebrating its 13th year, was one of my first experience in the spoken word community, back when I was an itty bitty youngin. I had entered Youth Speaks’ annual teen poetry slam the year before, and since that one was my VERY first experience, I was still coasting off the high of my introduction to the stage, while somewhatmaybenotreally nursing my hurt ego that didn’t break past the first round of competition. I had since not kept in contact with any of the other poets whom I had met, and was a bit more focused on other things besides poetry, such as the F’s I was receiving in calculus and computer science. Then I received a phonecall. “Hi, my name is Tyger and I’m calling from Youth Speaks. I’d like you to perform at our show.” Now, I was a kid from Union City, CA who had moved from that boondock town to the even boondockier town of Davis. I didn’t have friends with names like Tyger. She might as well have said, “Hi, my name is Zordon, and I’m calling from Eltar.” I was intrigued. I went. My life changed.

Since then, many of my memories of Youth Speaks – which equates to many of my memories as a fledgling artist – can be traced back to BTN (that’s what the yoofs call Bringing the Noise…yeahhhh acronyms, son what!). My first experience was the premier of a poem called “An Ode to All Languages” (yeah, EPIC right?), which was my disheveled response to an experience of being booed offstage before even being able to start at an Apollo Night-type show a month before. Within a couple of years after that, Dahlak and Ruby were in the mix. And Nico was the asshole who had always been around, but who didn’t talk to me because I MURDERED him in a battle when we first met.

However, what remains a memory that has stuck with me the closest is the same that has haunted me since it occurred. At the same time it is one that I often refer to when I question the very depths of my purpose. It actually happened after a show, in ’06 (I think…the years are blurs, I say!). Juiced off a fantastic BTN show, a couple friends and I were walking from the venue, gurgling with excitement and joy. We were inspired beyond sentences and were just oinking incomprehensible phrases at each other about how a “movement” was beginning, and how art would change and mountains would explode and dinosaurs would revive all because of SPOKEN WORDeedadeeda when our attention was jerked towards a man aggressively yelling at his girlfriend. His arms were clenched around her shoulders, and he grumbled threats to her as she whimpered. As we walked past, both of them turned their knitted brows towards us, and at the moment our eyes met, he picked up his hand and slapped her in the face with his knuckle. “Yeah I’m hitting her!” He shouted our ever-closer-to-the-curb bodies. “What are you going to do about it!?” We all moved our gazes forward, not missing a step. One of us even whispered, “Nothing…” We walked on.

I had just left an event about changing the world, and in the meantime I allowed myself to take shelter in excuses about my age, about having to choose battles, about things working themselves out, yet years later I recall this experience as a moment when my words, regardless of how eloquently spoken, had fallen flat and hollow. To engage in a society where people don’t always follow through with what they say may not be new to anyone these days. But when amplified, the greatest potentials and deepest follies can reverberate for eternities.

I realize that this experience continues to resonate with me not because it was a moment when I saw face-to-face how bad things in this world can be, but also because it had been so starkly preceded by a face-to-face glimpse at how great things can be. More than anything, I continue to love Youth Speaks and its events because it serves as one of the few light towers during this stormy times. It not only engages us to question the things that hinder progress in the world, it inspires us to question why we often hinder progress within ourselves. At moments of war and sadness, when we seem to be at battle with everyone from our neighbors to our bill collectors, and when our legends and heroes are slowly passing away – cherished are these rare opportunities to listen to the emerging voices of our future leaders who are still in the stages of learning themselves. So many people who I met at events like Bringing the Noise have gone on to do wonderful and amazing things, and – most importantly – have fulfilled the prophecies they set for themselves in front of thousands of audience members. Like I said, a truly magical event.

Youth Speaks’ Bringing the Noise for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. will be taking place at 1,000-seat Herbst Theatre in San Francisco on Monday, January 18 at 8pm. If you’re fortunate enough to be in the Bay during this time, do yourself a favor and see how great things can be.

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Via YouthSpeaks.org and MVMT