By Monica PottsStaff Writer
February 24, 2008
STAMFORD - Chantel Wilkerson, a 17-year-old student at Stamford High School, could not decide whether she would get on stage.
She was at an event for Black History Month at the University of Connecticut's Stamford campus yesterday, a few hours before a spoken word poetry contest was to begin.
"She's here, and she's a block of ice," said her mother, Phyllis Wilkerson, 46. "You get her at a party and she will dance at the drop of a song, in front of people she's never seen before."
But poetry is different, Phyllis Wilkerson said. "Words mean so much more."
The event, which included the spoken word poetry contest and a panel on music, was to begin at 2 p.m. yesterday, but got off to a slow start. That left a little more time for Chantel Wilkerson to decide, and she ultimately was swayed to perform.
It was sponsored by the company BlackCT, founded by Jere Eaton, former president of the Stamford chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Eaton said she wanted to celebrate positive art forms for Black History Month.
DJs, a spoken word poet, musicians and a teacher spoke during a panel discussion on music. About 30 people, including children and adults, from Bridgeport, Norwalk and Stamford, were in the audience.
The panelists shared a common idea: Music, literature and history education improve the way African-American youth view their roles in the world.
"What has happened in our country to the African-Americans, we have been taught through the media over time to wait for someone to come save us," said Joseph Celcis, a musician and English teacher at Westhill High School. "Your generation needs to step up and say, 'We are going to change things for ourselves.' "
Sheanna Cuffee, a 17-year-old student at Central High School in Bridgeport, told the audience she grew up in foster care and said that kind of thinking was unfair.
"What was I supposed to do when I was 3, 4, 5 growing up?" she said. "It bothers me when you say our generation is clueless; it's not most of our faults."
Sheanna, who said she has lived in four foster homes, said extra challenges face those who grow up in poverty or in foster care.
"Parents need to wake up," she said. "Society needs to wake up."
The panelists spoke about the history of music and hip hop, and said the negative images portrayed in today's mainstream rap are at odds with hip hop's thoughtful, political roots.
It has become more like the mainstream music against which it was reacting, like disco, which was more about making repetitive sounds for people to dance to and less about encouraging people to think, Celcis said.
It is a problem for this generation of children, he said. "They don't search, and it's amazing because they have every search tool at their fingertips."
Copyright (c) 2008, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc.
--------------------
This article originally appeared at:http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/local/scn-sa-nor.word9feb24,0,2811289.story
February 24, 2008
STAMFORD - Chantel Wilkerson, a 17-year-old student at Stamford High School, could not decide whether she would get on stage.
She was at an event for Black History Month at the University of Connecticut's Stamford campus yesterday, a few hours before a spoken word poetry contest was to begin.
"She's here, and she's a block of ice," said her mother, Phyllis Wilkerson, 46. "You get her at a party and she will dance at the drop of a song, in front of people she's never seen before."
But poetry is different, Phyllis Wilkerson said. "Words mean so much more."
The event, which included the spoken word poetry contest and a panel on music, was to begin at 2 p.m. yesterday, but got off to a slow start. That left a little more time for Chantel Wilkerson to decide, and she ultimately was swayed to perform.
It was sponsored by the company BlackCT, founded by Jere Eaton, former president of the Stamford chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Eaton said she wanted to celebrate positive art forms for Black History Month.
DJs, a spoken word poet, musicians and a teacher spoke during a panel discussion on music. About 30 people, including children and adults, from Bridgeport, Norwalk and Stamford, were in the audience.
The panelists shared a common idea: Music, literature and history education improve the way African-American youth view their roles in the world.
"What has happened in our country to the African-Americans, we have been taught through the media over time to wait for someone to come save us," said Joseph Celcis, a musician and English teacher at Westhill High School. "Your generation needs to step up and say, 'We are going to change things for ourselves.' "
Sheanna Cuffee, a 17-year-old student at Central High School in Bridgeport, told the audience she grew up in foster care and said that kind of thinking was unfair.
"What was I supposed to do when I was 3, 4, 5 growing up?" she said. "It bothers me when you say our generation is clueless; it's not most of our faults."
Sheanna, who said she has lived in four foster homes, said extra challenges face those who grow up in poverty or in foster care.
"Parents need to wake up," she said. "Society needs to wake up."
The panelists spoke about the history of music and hip hop, and said the negative images portrayed in today's mainstream rap are at odds with hip hop's thoughtful, political roots.
It has become more like the mainstream music against which it was reacting, like disco, which was more about making repetitive sounds for people to dance to and less about encouraging people to think, Celcis said.
It is a problem for this generation of children, he said. "They don't search, and it's amazing because they have every search tool at their fingertips."
Copyright (c) 2008, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc.
--------------------
This article originally appeared at:http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/local/scn-sa-nor.word9feb24,0,2811289.story
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