Spoken Word #OnTheBSide of the Struggle for Black Progress

February 26, 2017

Spoken word is many things to many people…ranging from life itself to a cute pastime that occasionally has value when trying to seduce or vent. But spoken word is so much more…it is our soundtrack. Have you been listening?

Ingrid B, founder of #OnTheBSide Entertainment, reminds us of the role poetry plays in our life & ability to weather the social storms of our times.

I met Ingrid while serving as a priest in Miami. Trying to escape Coral Gables, one of my Miami brothers told me about the soul of South Florida and the Ambassador of that Soul, Ms. Ingrid B. What was crazy about that encounter was that I learned her father was also a priest in the Episcopal Diocese I was serving!

So here’s this PK (preacher’s kid) who’s head of this artistic underworld. It was incredibly compelling…to see her host & navigate an evening to a near Eucharistic joy was a thing of beauty that I had to respect.

Spoken Word still Remains an Underworld

Well at least for me it does…even though poetry is always present. Spoken Word rarely ever fails me. Yet how so often I fail spoken word. It’s so easy for the poetic word to be shunned when facing a life that can easily seem void of beauty.

When the world is filled with chaos and bigotry and hatred…when things seem hopeless…when the happenings of life render us powerless: it seems there is no beauty. But spoken word is there too..seeing what is truly ugly and conveying it with such beauty that one is compelled to hope. True hope…not that false hope.

So what does spoken word have to contribute in the present socio-political climate?

I #AskIngridB in this episode of Blacks with Power. Hear what she has to say and share your response!

Resources Mentioned in this Episode:

  1. On the B Side Entertainment
  2. Sekou Andrews
  3. Amir Sulaiman

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We all belong to various National Social/Community organizations: Divine Nine fraternities & sororities, NAACP/Urban League, Black Professional Associations (i.e. Executive Leadership Council, National Association of Black Accountants, National Organization of Blacks in Law Enforcement, and etc.). They each have Annual Conventions…and those conventions are expensive!

Through this contest, BWP is offering you the chance to win the registration fees (up to $500.00) for yourself to attend the 2017 Convention of your choice.

 

What are Your Thoughts?

2 comments on “Spoken Word #OnTheBSide of the Struggle for Black Progress

  1. Thank you for having me. I enjoyed the conversation and the motivation. xoxoxo