Downtown | Education & Youth | Arts & Culture | The Word | Citywide Youth Coalition
| Friday night, The Word Lit Cypher collaborated with Citywide Youth Coalition, (CWYC), CT Students for a Dream, and Students for Educational Justice to present “Poetic Justice.” Jamiah Green Photos. |
The silhouette of a girl stretched across a wall, a branch above the left side of her head. It pointed to a bright red apple that rested in her kinky curls. Her cheeks bloomed with a number of words: Homophobia. Tackling xenophobia. Equality. Mental Health.
In her head, a conversation about mental health was already taking root.
Friday night, The Word Lit Cypher collaborated with Citywide Youth Coalition, (CWYC), CT Students for a Dream, and Students for Educational Justice to present “Poetic Justice” at CWYC’s Black and Brown Power Center downtown. The event featured spoken word performances, original music, and conversations from both youth and facilitators.
Early in the evening, students were asked to answer the question “what is the movement to you?” One by one, they approached the center’s large artwork, which includes the silhouette of a Black girl with a blackboard-like component people can write on. The topic that had the most votes and was chosen to speak about was mental health.
“I think that it is absolutely true that mental health has a lot of stigmatization,” said Alan Veloz, an audience member from the event. “And that is what tends to prevent people from accepting help.”
During the discussion, attendees suggested that mental health crises, particularly among youth, can come out of misunderstandings. One, who did not want to disclose their name, noted that a lot of personal power and agency can come from mental health. Another called for a different understanding of mental health vis-a-vis gun violence.
“Waiting patience, mama we gon’ make it, I said that we gon’ make it/ Waiting patience, mama we gon’ make it, I said that we gon’ make it out,” rapped two friends, both high school boys who dedicated the song to their mothers.
El the Poet, who is a mental health awareness activist, brought a handful of poems spanning her mental health.
“This was a seed she wanted to grow,” she read in one poem. “I need to reawaken my destiny ... I feel left in the dark with a beating heart.”
“I am scared of myself, but I am not scared to die..Y'all think this is a poem, but this is a cry for help,” they read in another.
In addition to a number of breakout discussions, activities allowed attendees members to socialize with one another, work in mini groups, and collaborate on poetry, spoken word and sound. When they came back together, Jafferis recited a few lines of a song, allowing everyone to sing them.
“Back up police, I know my rights/ Slow down ICE, I know my rights,” he recited.
“The event I think was a great opportunity for youth and adults to have a meaningful discussion about mental health through a creative artistic lense,” Veloz said. “It’s something that rarely happens. I think people should spread the word about these lit cyphers. It really is a dope environment where everyone gains something at the end of it, and everyone ends content with an activist standpoint.”
Check out the Citywide Youth Coalition, The Word, CT for a Students Dream, and Students For Educational Justice’s websites for more information about upcoming events and their organizations.