Civil Rights Through the Eyes of a Young Poet Summer Camp Held at Central Library
by Roy L. Williams, Public Relations Department
Several area teens gained knowledge about Birmingham’s past and learned how to express their feelings about the city’s role in the civil rights movement through the spoken word, thanks to a weeklong teen poetry camp held at the Central Library July 9-13.
At the conclusion of the camp, participants in the second annual Civil Rights Through the Eyes of a Young Poet summer camp read their own original poems about civil rights then and now out loud before their peers. Their poems will be recorded and archived in the Birmingham Public Library Archives Department for future generations to hear.
The camp is a partnership between the Archives Department, which houses several artifacts documenting Birmingham’s civil rights history, and Real Life Poets, a Birmingham-based nonprofit that uses spoken word and hip-hop to empower young people to be the voice of the next generation.
The camp “is designed around civil rights then and now with spoken word as the tool,” said John Paul Taylor, founder of Real Life Poets. The civil rights movement and BPL Archives served as the foundation for the written pieces the young people created.
Taylor said writing about civil rights enables teens to learn more about Birmingham’s role in the fight for equal rights for all. He hopes their poems being recorded for BPL Archives educates the youth of tomorrow.
“It gives them the awareness that what I say right now has the opportunity to impact future generations,” Taylor said. “This two-minute poem can have such a profound ability to move people in the future. You get to speak for a population who don’t have the voice or platform like this.”
BPL hosts a monthly spoken word program for adults called Bards & Brews.
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| John Paul Taylor of Real Life Poets and participants at civil rights poetry camp |
Several area teens gained knowledge about Birmingham’s past and learned how to express their feelings about the city’s role in the civil rights movement through the spoken word, thanks to a weeklong teen poetry camp held at the Central Library July 9-13.
At the conclusion of the camp, participants in the second annual Civil Rights Through the Eyes of a Young Poet summer camp read their own original poems about civil rights then and now out loud before their peers. Their poems will be recorded and archived in the Birmingham Public Library Archives Department for future generations to hear.
The camp is a partnership between the Archives Department, which houses several artifacts documenting Birmingham’s civil rights history, and Real Life Poets, a Birmingham-based nonprofit that uses spoken word and hip-hop to empower young people to be the voice of the next generation.
The camp “is designed around civil rights then and now with spoken word as the tool,” said John Paul Taylor, founder of Real Life Poets. The civil rights movement and BPL Archives served as the foundation for the written pieces the young people created.
Taylor said writing about civil rights enables teens to learn more about Birmingham’s role in the fight for equal rights for all. He hopes their poems being recorded for BPL Archives educates the youth of tomorrow.
“It gives them the awareness that what I say right now has the opportunity to impact future generations,” Taylor said. “This two-minute poem can have such a profound ability to move people in the future. You get to speak for a population who don’t have the voice or platform like this.”
BPL hosts a monthly spoken word program for adults called Bards & Brews.
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