The Collage Foundation: Archive

Urban Word NYC ignited the youth spoken word and poetry scene in New York City when it was established in 1999. Since then, Urban Word NYC has provided thousand of teenagers with free, safe and uncensored writing and performance opportunities.

FALL 2004 WRITING WORKSHOPS

MONDAYS
Hip-Hop Poetry & "The Classics" Writing Workshop From Tupac to Langston Hughes Shakespeare to Public Enemy, students will examine, discuss, then crete their own poems/raps/rants/manifestos.

TUESDAYS
QQ & A
(Queer Questioning & Allies)
A collaboration with Live Out Loud, this workshop offers NYC youth a space where those who identify as LGBTSTQ and their allies, can safely and creatively respond to the issues affecting their community

WEDSNESDAY
RECITE!
Voices of Muslim-American Youth & Allies
Today in America, Mulism lives, communities, and histories are at stake. In Recite! we hope to open the minds of allies and Muslim-American youth, create a safe space and involved a chance to understand their peers in a religious and artistic way.

MORE INFO:
www.urbanwordnyc.com



It's NOT all about the Benajamins, baby. That's what the youth spoken word artists at Urban Word NYC are proving. These teens are using linguistic acrobatics and razor sharp insights to expose injustice and hypocrisy and speak out against racism, sexism, and militarism. Teach kid! Listen to some of our favorite pieces. For more, visit www.urbanwordnyc.org /wordzone.html

The Televised Revolution

"One day I asked my mom why she moved up in this country,
it's like 20 years for nothing
I'm like immigrants be buggin!
To trade the sand for concrete,
the beach for bus seats,
palm trees for packed streets, for what? Nikes!
Bust me,
my mom left a 2 story house for Apt. 5c
and it's not just me
I spit it in whole raps
cus it's been 20 sumthin years and she still saving
to go back
so kno that,
the masta dun set us free
so let us leave
cus his money
is dirty with slavery
but then,
they put a president on it
like muthafucka he ain't pick no cotton,
slaves carried this country's economy for 200 years
I'm not askin for reparations, but in text books
make that shit clear! 20 font bold print: without blacks the U.S.
probably wouldn't exist
so let me assist the observation of the slave
process.
Slaves have changed through the ages
slave chains to slave wages
the change, black is not the only race it encases
Dominicans and Haitians
and I don't have the skill to reflect the problems
Mexicans be facin
It's amazing
how slavery never discriminates against us
to tell you the truth I think it loves us
with a passion
cus when I applied for slavery they had no
problem givin me affirmative action.
first draft first pick a nigga then a spic
makes me think getting to this day straight
coincidence.
But we bound to find a betta way to represent
these sentiments
of our people locked up by the finer things in
life jailed by eloquence.
I got the proof but the evidence ain't relevant
when our jails are made of diamonds and gems
and our jailer's name is Mr. Benjamins.
Monthly 200 dolla welfare check compliments of
the president
suppose to make up for 200 years of
imprimsonment
but we proud of our prisons throwin up our
projects taggin up the pavement
like slaves reppin they slave ship
s but we ain't made shit
when I made this
Asked myself what is it for?
30,000 children died of hunger and that news
reached my core
cus I was worried about a perfect score
and I bet I wasn't the only one,
it's the misdirection of a good intention,
so I ask ya why do you write?
I reflect on the terrible state we live in.
Spaniard citizens are killed by acts of terrorism
while Iraqi children are killed by acts of patriotism and the television never lies look ya'll the revolution's being televised."

Enmanuel Candelario

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