WS Chronicle

The creativity and courage of nine local high schoolers was on full display last weekend during the 7th Annual Spring Retrospective, a showcase of spoken word and visual arts hosted by Authoring Action.

Since 2002 Authoring Action, a local nonprofit devoted to building youth as authors and advocates for social change, has helped teens discover their voices through creative writing and spoken word. The Annual Spring Retrospective serves as a celebration of the students’ writing talents and accomplishments from the past year.

This years’ event on Saturday, May 12, at First Baptist Church on Fifth Street featured original spoken word pieces that centered on a number of significant subject matters including overcoming trauma, the importance of voting, hunger, racial stereotypes and more. When discussing their inspiration for writing, several students said they use real life experiences. Antonio Rattley, a student at Carter G. Woodson said he also finds inspiration in knowing that he has the opportunity to be the voice of the voiceless.

“Understanding that we were created to have a voice not just for ourselves but for other people,” said Rattley. “We find inspiration in our own life experiences but also the experiences of people we know or people that we see every day. So we have to be a voice for ourselves and for others.”

Although all of the teens were excited on the day of the performance Kamille Graham may have been the most excited person in the room. Graham was given the opportunity to put the entire script together, a task that is usually done by co-founder and artistic director Nathan Freeman.

Freeman said it’s a tough job putting all the separate monologues together into one script for the Retrospective performance but Camille was up for the task. He said, “That’s a precious transition because you have to maintain the integrity of the piece and at the same token don’t just do a cut and paste.”

Graham, who is a student at Parkland Magnet School and will be attending N.C. A&T State University in the fall, said she was honored that Freeman gave her the opportunity.

“I was proud and honored that I got the opportunity. It also pushes me even harder to become even better.” Graham said.

During the matinee show on Saturday afternoon the crowd was moved to a standing ovation after the teens finished their power montage of dialogue. One member of the crowd was even moved to tears, she then encouraged the students to continue writing.

For more information about Authoring Action and the programs the nonprofit offers, visit authoringaction.org.