“The First of Its Kind”: The Defender’s Inaugural Young Black Writer’s Social An Innovative, Revolutionary Event
Attended by 40 young people, The Defender's inaugural "Young Black Writer's Social" is the first event of its kind in Kansas City. The post “The First of Its Kind”: The Defender’s Inaugural Young Black Writer’s Social An Innovative, Revolutionary Event appeared first on Kansas City Defender.
BlackNewsPortal
Several people sit in bleachers inside of Charlotte Street’s Stern Theatre watching the presentation, led by Nasir Anthony Montalvo, for The Kansas City Defender’s inaugural “Young Black Writer’s Social.” (Vaughan Harrison)
On September 19th, The Kansas City Defender held its inaugural “Young Black Writer’s Social“–an event for 13-25 year old’s to build solidarity with writers across the Kansas City Metro and learn from seasoned professionals.
The Kansas City Defender believes that youth are integral to Black liberation, and it is, dually, this belief that has led us to our organization being comprised of writers, community organizers, friends and family belonging to Generation Z; we were honored to celebrate these people through this event.
Held at Charlotte Street Foundation (from who we recently received the 2023 Cultural Producer Grant), our organization hosted 40 young people for a night of cultural conversation and solidarity building.
Writers were grounded in an opening performance by the esteemed Melissa Ferrer Civil– a poet, organizer, educator and musician living in KCMO. Rooted in the practical and the possible, their spoken word poems and songs are mostly responses to the world around her and their own internal journey.
Following a short presentation from The Defender, Cori Smith (Founder of BLK + BRWN.), Mili Mansaray (Reporter for The Kansas City Beacon), Chad Onianwa (Founder of @regionjournal) and Dominick Williams (a national news photographer) joined us in a panel to offer words of wisdom and experience for prospective young writers–focusing on the ways the written word has been liberatory for them in their respective professional careers.
Attendees walked away with Defender tote bags stuffed with materials from our partners, including Onianwa’s Region Journal and Derecka Purnell’s radical and groundbreaking book, Becoming Abolitionists: Police, Protests, and the Pursuit of Freedom.
All photos captured by Vaughan Harrison.
A huge thank you to all our specials guests for attending our inaugural “Young Black Writer’s Social”; and to the Urban League of Greater Kansas City and KC Rainbow Tour for being event sponsors.
Those who wish to learn more about writing for The Defender are encouraged to fill out our Volunteer Information Form.
The post “The First of Its Kind”: The Defender’s Inaugural Young Black Writer’s Social An Innovative, Revolutionary Event appeared first on Kansas City Defender.
