The Soultown! Volume III: Issue 7 JULY 2019 | Page 31

THE SANKOFA VOW The view of the youth engaged in the 2019 Summer Classic Upward Bound Spoken Word class. greater independence and self-advocacy. This was day one to defining themselves, naming themselves, creating for themselves and speaking for themselves. Our class met every other day for 4 weeks. Setting personal goals and deadlines is an essential need to become self-determined, along with solving problems or barriers to achieving these goals. The perfect exercise to assist was defining a time limit for the creation of the mid- term and final spoken word projects -- minimum 60 seconds, maximum 120 seconds. Karma, one of the female students stated, “It was cool to be able to open up, speak and be heard. I learned a lot about my peers.” Making appropriate choices based on personal preferences and interests is also necessary. The themes for the poems were Introduce Yourself and Where You’re From. I needed the youth to participate in the decision about what to write, as well as owning their words. This required a video recording of the student poet reciting the poem by memory in class. The last part was to submit 5 digital journal entries -- via goggledoc -- and reading the novel, the Bronz Masquerade, by Nikki Grimes. By taking an Courtesy Photo intriguing look into the life of eighteen urban teens, Grimes uses the structure of a poetry slam to pay homage to spoken-word poetry. I knew the Bronx Masquerade would help teach them the impact of advocating for themselves. The goal was to have all of the [students], black, Latino, Asian, Bosnian, white, male, and female, talk about the raw, unedited experiences as teenagers, and share in their uncensored, uncut, faultless voices. Emma shared, “This was one of my favorite classes and experiences. Robert Frost is my favorite poet.” I was impressed with the originality of the scholars. I was even more pleased with the group for accepting this challenge and the challenge of Classic Upward Bound. Avery did not enjoy the class. He is not a fan of rapping or rhyming. He said, “I did learn how to include myself in a poem. It was very hard and I am not comfortable being vulnerable and sharing my thoughts.” I thanked Avery for his honesty and quoted Mickye, “If we do not continue to develop our program, it will not continue to shine. It is about exposure a n d education.” Every year, the scholars receive a t-shirt with an image and quote to remind them of their summer journey. “Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today,” Malcolm X. Congratulations to the students that are starting, continuing and completing the Classic Upward Bound Program and congratulations to Mickye and the CUB team! We are the ish! Kujichagulia is the 2nd Kwanzaa principle defined as self-determination in Swahili -- to define ourselves, name ourselves, create for ourselves and speak for ourselves. Kujichagulia is for keeps! The Sankofa Vow is my promise to my ancestors to return to the Motherland and retrieve what has been stolen from my ancestry via the trans- Atlantic slave trade. My forefathers intended to leave seeds for us to return to gather, plant, cultivate and grow. These seeds can be reclaimed and retained by reading, watching, and discussing with our elders and also by traveling to our native continent of Africa, the Motherland. The spirit of Kujichagulia lives through my work with the youth and I am committed to keeping The Sankofa Vow. I am Chillin’, Innovative Extraordinaire for The Soultown International Magazine. I’d like to thank Mickye Johnson and the entire Classic Upward Bound team for having SOUL! , Learn more about the Sankofa Vow at http://www.thesoultown.com/sankofa-vow.html Email Chillin: [email protected] July 2019 • The Soultown International Magazine • Celebrating 2 years • Connecting Our Cultures to Our Cyber & Conscious Communities • thesoultown.com 31