Black History poety contest at MCCC

A poetry contest was organized by the African American Student Organization (A.A.S.O.) to commemorate Black History Month. Held Tuesday, February 17 in the Mercer Art Gallery, the contest, the brainchild of Mercer senior bursar and AASO club advisor, Lucia Brown-Joseph, showcased the work of eight Mercer students.

Brown-Joseph was inspired to organize a poetry contest after she attended a similar open microphone event held at Mercer's James Kerney Campus. She says that "seeing the members of the community that came out to enthusiastically show their support for the creative arts made me realized the positive social effects that such a program could have on our student body in West Windsor."

The panel of four judges chosen for the event included Mercer professors Dr. Renee Walker and Dr. Eric Watson, Mercer public information coordinator Saveria Symons, and Language Arts teacher Debra Brown. Guest poets included local poet LuCretia Bellamy and Mercer student and published poet Lamar Rice.

While there were a handful of absences among the participants, it did not appear to dampen the enthusiasm of those involved or the roughly 30 spectators. The poetry of those absent was read by various AASO members as well as participating poets.

Wes Hankinson, one of those poets, started off the day with a rendition of fellow Mercer student Danielle Bright's personal composition "Why the Caged Bird Sings" (Inspired by the Maya Angelou poem of the same name). The remaining performances from students and guest poets ranged in their themes from the spiritual to the political.

One early student highlight was Hankinson's confident performance of his own composition. Hankinson, 20, a third year Liberal Arts major, performed a lengthy but powerful spoken word piece entitled "The Untold Story." In this unconventional composition, simple but effective screams of "Murder" provided a deeply affecting exclamation point to a poignant story of urban violence.

Asked later about his work, Hankinson, said, "I wanted to see if I could win," adding, "I feel that it was probably the best performance I've ever had. I was very satisfied."

"The Ghetto Speaks," a poem written and performed by Alexis Pack, provided another examination of inner city life and the various emotional and social pitfalls encountered in daily life. In the poem she says, "I'm struggling just to keep myself focused. Sometimes I gotta chain myself down so no one would try and steal me; but still the ghetto speaks unheard cries."

An introspective poem read by Mercer student Martu Jabetan entitled "Reminiscing" seemed to offer quiet reflection on the day with the hopeful final lines "I sit here knowing no matter what you do./ I sit here convinced that I will always love you./ I sit here reminiscing."

Selection of a winner proved difficult. Dr. Watson, a contest judge and head editor of Mercer poetry magazine Drumbeat, added "The participants were creative and distinctive in their own separate ways." He went on to say that, "It was great experience seeing [Mercer students] engaged in such creative expression."

However, like all contests, there were decisions to be made. Pack's "The Ghetto Speaks" took the day's top prize. Receiving the prize for creativity was Wes Hankinson, whose non-traditional piece drew heavy praise from the judges for its boldness and power. The prize for performance went to Desiree Smith for her spoken/sung piece entitled "Free" which effectively combined the opening stanza of "My Country this of thee" with her own heartfelt personal experiences.