On Friday, Feb. 21, the University of Massachusetts’ Center of Racial Justice and Youth Engaged Research and the Black Healing, Joy and Justice Collective held the second annual W.E.B. Du Bois Poetry Slam Invitational. The slam, which was held at Furcolo Hall’s Carney Family Auditorium, was the Black Artistic Freedom Conference; it was sponsored by the W.E.B. Du Bois Center. Imani Wallace, a fourth-year PhD student of social justice education and W.E.B. Du Bois Center fellow, curated the event. It was hosted by Roscoe Burnems (the stage name of Douglas Powell), a spoken-word poet and the first poet laureate of Richmond, VA.

As with last year, the slam commemorated Black History Month as well as the power of spoken word poetry. Wallace described how spoken word poetry is significant in that it is spoken aloud and not simply read, leaving an impact on audiences who not only hear it, but also develop a connection with it as a result. Wallace also explained the sheer impact of spoken word poetry on social change; it grants a voice to marginalized communities, therefore, it is “a platform worth having and worth uplifting and highlighting.”

Wallace spoke about how her research encompasses critical race theory and the power of “counter-storytelling,” one of the theory’s cornerstones. She defines the principle as listening to experiences that people share with the world, using them as well-grounded reasoning and actively learning from them. According to Wallace, spoken-word poetry is a platform that allows for counter-storytelling, as it serves as a medium for people to share their own experiences, and provides stories for society to listen to.

“A poet is discussing oppression, or excitement, or … experiences about a particular aspect of their very existence, of what has come to their mind, their soul and their hearts as they were writing, and then going on to share this piece,” Wallace said. “This is a valid resource of lived experiences and research that we should take into consideration when we try to analyze the power, privilege and oppression dynamics of the society that we live in.”

Dr. Whitney Battle-Baptiste, the director of the W.E.B. Du Bois Center, and Adam Holmes, the assistant director of the Center, were in attendance. Holmes described how one connects with spoken word poetry not only aurally but also visually, allowing for listeners to develop a strong association with performers and their themes — in the case of the poetry slam, Black artistic freedom and the Black experience.

Holmes also argued that spoken word poetry is a vehicle for one to document their experiences,  including with systemic racism and prejudice, and allows people to understand others’ perspectives.

“I think, when Du Bois wrote about the power of poetry, he was at pains to stress that it is the power of the poet to create a landscape of feeling, to create a framework for us to understand our time, and to understand what is going on in our own life and what is going on in other people’s,” Holmes said.

Burnems, too, spoke of the potential of spoken word poetry to bring about change in society. He explained that due to its ability to captivate as well as educate, people can understand it more clearly than they might understand other forms of media. “I think that pulls on the empathy of people in a way that most art forms don’t,” he said. “And that can inspire people to create change in their own communities.”

The seven poets who took part in the slam were Tru Kwene, Jesica Blandon (“Sumbodies Mama”), Rashad Wright, Darius Martin (“Oso”), Goddess Tymani Rain, Rudy Cabrera (“Rudy Ru”) and Fly Ry. The two sacrificial poets, who performed and were judged without taking part in the actual competition, were Amina Jordan-Mendez and Qua’Nae Golston-Thomas.

Kwene, a slam poet hailing from Boston, has been partaking in poetry slams for well over a decade and writing poetry for 20 years. The two pieces she performed were titled “Let Us Live” and “Instructions.” Of “Let Us Live,” she explained: “It really is important for me as a queer Black woman to make sure that Black men know that I love them and I support them … and I want Black women to know that I love them and support them as well.” Her second piece, “Instructions,” was written about her own personal experiences as a regular participant in poetry slams.

Blandon, who is from the Bronx, New York, has won several poetry awards in her home state, and has also taken part in Broadway productions. She titled her poems “How Baddies Make It Home Safe” and “My Blicky.” Both of her poems were based on the songs respectively by Khia and Fresh X Reckless. Blandon described how “How Baddies Make It Home Safe” followed her life as a woman living in New York, and how its ultimate message was one of female empowerment due to its criticism of ingrained misogyny.

“[‘How Baddies Make It Home Safe’] is supposed to empower women to be as sexy and beautiful as you want to be, but understand that in this world, you will have to protect yourself when you do something,” Blandon said. “My Blicky,” meanwhile, was centered around the dangers of gun violence in the United States and the impact it has on the younger generation of people in the country.

The event was not only a night of striking performances, but also of solidarity and camaraderie amongst contestants, organizers and audience members alike. UMass Slamherst, the University of Massachusetts’ own poetry slam team, gave a performance in between the participants’ entries. Additionally, during her remarks, Battle-Baptiste surprised Wallace — herself an eminent spoken word artist under the stage name “Lyrical Faith” — by announcing her as the W.E.B. Du Bois Center’s inaugural Poet-in-Residence.

Wallace spoke of her sheer joy at being the Center’s first Poet-in-Residence, describing it as “an honor that [she] was more than grateful to receive.” She expressed her hopes to memorialize Du Bois and his work relating to Afro-American studies in her new capacity, given his status as a pioneer of and his use of poetry as a vehicle for activism.

“Thinking about Du Bois as an artist and thinking about art as a political act is something that the Poetry Slam allows for us to do in this real, live form,” Wallace said. “I think that is a particularly special aspect of my work with them and my work as the inaugural Du Bois Centre Poet-in-Residence.”

The winners of the competition were announced after an evening of captivating performances that struck chords with the audience, who enthusiastically cheered all of the participants on throughout the night. Kwene was named the winner, Blandon took second place and Wright won third.

Wallace noted the audience’s enthusiasm, and also that the auditorium had reached full capacity. The exceptionally high level of attendance was complemented by the dedication and skill each of the participants put into their craft, for which Wallace expressed her gratitude.

“I invited these professional poets … who came out to be a part of this and they really slammed their hearts out,” Wallace said. “They really shared their work, and they really spoke of Black stories and Black narratives and just their narratives and their stories and their voices.”

Kalana Amarasekara can be reached at [email protected].