Nike Hosts Black History Month Spoken Word Competition: Atlanta

An article by Senor Kaos    2 Comments

Yesterday I was invited to a special / private event Nike was hosting in Atlanta. It was a spoken word poetry contest put together for several metro ATL High School Students.

Students from Cedar Grove, W.D. Mohammed, and Green Pastures Christian High School competed for a chance to win a $1,000 scholarship fund and a pair of limited Nike Air Force Ones – 2009 Black History Month Edition. Students were encouraged to create a piece of poetry based on a “Game Changer” in their life, someone who has had an impact on them or the African American community. A Nike “Game Changer” is someone who can beat antyhing, to change everything. Is Señor Kaos a “Game Changer?” OH YOU BETTER BELIEVE IT! But this isn’t about ME right now.

V-103 personality and tastemaker Greg Street hosted the event. The judges included Atlanta Falcons’ players Curtis Lofton, and Jamaal Anderson (NO, not that Jamal Anderson). Also singer Ashley Phillips, Beyonce (Hot 107.9 / Youth Vibe), and Olympic Gold Metalist and ATL’s own Angelo Taylor. Brooklyn’s own Divine Bradley came out and shared a poem with the students, and also talked about how he created change in his community as a teenager by raising money to throw events at a local community center to keep his peers out of trouble. As a surprise, Grand Hustle recording artist Yung LA came through to show support and encouragement to the kids as well.

5 students took the stage to represent for their school. To me 3 of the poems were very similar touching on Barack Obama, as well as other African American pioneers / inventors who have made a change in America. One of the poems even sounded a lot like my song “Girls Rock Too” Hmmmm. But all in all their were 2 poets who really stood out from the rest. Asantewaa Adbur Rabanni (W.D. Mohammed H.S.) and Kedarius Peoples (Cedar Grove H.S.). Asantewaa’s poem was centered around having a conversation with her deceased mother and thanking her for being a “game changer” in her life. FRESH!!! I thought it was VERY original, unique, and stood out from every other poem that I heard. Kadarius’ poem weaved Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have A Dream” speech in with the current scope of the U.S. 41 years later. With the presence of an African American President (Barack Obama) have we witnessed MLK’s dream come true??? Interesting concept as well. Kedarius definitely brought the energy and got the crowd behind him as well.

Here’s the beautiful thing about technology. I captured both poems on video, and you can check em out right here.

Asantewaa Abdur Rabanni – W.D. Mohammed High School (Sophmore)

Nike Black History Month Poetry Contest Atlanta #1 from Señor Kaos on Vimeo.

Kedarius Peoples – Cedar Grove High School (Senior)

Nike Black History Month Poetry Contest Atlanta #2 from Señor Kaos on Vimeo.

When it was all said and done… Kedarius emerged as the Grand Prize winner. For coming in first place he received the limited edition Nike Black History Month sneakers, and $1,000 scholarship for higher education. Asantewaa who received 2nd place and Fenell Wilkins who came in 3rd both received a $500 scholarship and one pair of the limited edition BHM sneakers as well.

I thought this was a GREAT event. I was really happy to see the younger generation be into poetry. Now a days it seems every kid wants to be a rapper or a signer, so I was SUPER pleased to witness the next generation of ATL poets. Give these kids a few years, and I could see them at Apache Cafe or even on Def Poetry Jam tearing down the stage.

Salute to NIKE for honoring Black History Month with not only a sneaker for people to buy, but for executing this event, and going something positive in the community. I wish they had something like this when I was in High School.