CITY-WIDE REAGAN BLACK HISTORY SLAM (#4)!

EVENT: City Wide Reagan Black History Slam (#4)
DATE & TIME: Friday, February 1st, 2008 @ 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm
ADMISSION: FREE
PLACE: Reagan High School Cafeteria
7104 Berkman Dr., Austin , Texas 78752


Austin, Black History Month is nearly upon us.  It is a time to reflect on the accomplishments and contributions of African Americans to the fabric of our national tapestry.  The Texas Youth Word Collective, in conjunction with the Reagan High School Social Studies Department’s month long African American Extravaganza, brings you the City Wide Reagan High Black History Slam.  It is only fitting that this year’s Black History Month kick off by honoring the long African tradition of oratory and storytelling through poetry slam.  And what better place to recognize the virtues of this expressive tradition that brought us Fredrick Douglas, Zora Neal Thurston, W.E.B. DuBois, and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. than Reagan H.S., which has had at least one person as a member of the national Austin Under 21 Poetry Slam Team the last three years.
 
We invite people of all races and nationalities, ages and cultures to come to the City Wide to hear and share the stories of yesterday, the issues of today, and the aspirations for tomorrow.  This will be a qualifying slam for the top three scorers to compete for a spot on this year’s team which will represent Austin at the Brave New Voices International Youth Poetry Slam Festival (BNV) this July in Washington, D.C.  Austin, we want you . . .  no we NEED you at the City Wide to help select our next team of spoken word warriors to speak truth to power.  Participants in the City Wide Under 21 Poetry Slam have represented Austin at BNV in Chicago, Los Angeles , San Francisco , New York , and San Jose.  
 
Last season’s Austin Under 21 Poetry Slam Team took the Brave New Voices International Youth Poetry Slam Festival in San Jose, California by storm, wowing audiences and judges alike with their brilliant group pieces.  Coached by the incomparable Mike Whalen (Neo Soul coach to the finals of the National Poetry Slam), the Under 21 Slam Team represented the spirit of Austin with their creativity and team spirit.  2007 Slam Champion Shay Harris (Reagan H.S.), Ruby Wilmann (LBJ H.S.), Brent Caballero (Hendrickson H.S.), and 2006 Slam Champion Jonathon “Korim” Sterling made us proud with their 6th place finish, competing against over 200 other youth poets from around the United States and England.  In 2004, Austin placed 5th in the nation.  The teams from Austin are nationally recognized and respected for their compelling power and artistry.
 
Come join us in supporting the voices and leaders of tomorrow.  If you have been to a City Wide you know, our youth are sure to give those politicians a much needed lesson in speechifyin’!!!  If you haven’t been to a City Wide, now is your chance to see what all the hub bub is about.  This project is funded in part by the City of Austin through the Cultural Arts Division and by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts through the Texas Commission on the Arts.
 


Listen to a special KUT news story about TYWC!