Spoken Word

These are two of my favorite pieces by black spoken word artists. The first expresses an issue of a contemporary stereotype, the second expresses an issue rooted in African American history. 

Siaara Freedman - "The Drug Dealer's Daughter"
Written from the perspective of a daughter impacted by her father's embodiment of the black drug dealer thug caricature, Freedman examines what it feels to be a real person confined to a stereotype, burdened by a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Javon Johnson - "Last Conversation Between Malcolm X and His Daughter"
Johnson takes on the character of Malcolm X and imagines what he would have said to his daughter before being assassinated. He forces the listener to imagine Malcolm X's humanity, to see him as a person who lived and loved and fought for equality, rather than just a figure or a martyr,