When Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. addressed the nation from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial he proclaimed that "we must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force."
And that is what Dartmouth's first celebration of Martin Luther King Day has been about: legacies of activism, legacies of hate.
In a continuation of this celebration, many Dartmouth students along with the Hopkins Center have organized a Poetry Slam that will take place tonight.
Although the event is a part of the Dr. King celebration, the poets have in no way limited the scope of the work they will read. Elinor Marsh, Outreach Manager at the Hopkins Center, predicted that students will be performing all types of pieces, "anything from angry to sexual to joyous to funny. It's going to be a total mix."
In this event, twelve poets will be divided up into two teams who will "compete" for points from the judges.
The judges will consist of various Dartmouth faculty and students, along with performance poet Sekou Sundiata.
But in the tradition of Dr. King, this slam is much less about competition and more about "soul force." "The best thing about the slam is that it doesn't need to be about winning," said Hillary Miller '02, an organizer and participant in this year's slam.
"It rarely is. It's great to have a sense of competition that isn't necessarily dependent upon who wins in the end."
Although the participants may not go into the slam with the ferocity of a boxer about to step into the ring, one participant will be walking away with a handsome reward. Whoever "wins" the slam is going to open for Sundiata when he appears at the Hopkins Center on Saturday with the Rock of Edges Band.
Sundiata will also be acting as a judge in the slam tonight. "It's hard to believe," said Miller. "I'm in awe of his work."
She and many others consider him an exciting artist because he has "his whole presence of being come through in his work, his voice, his emotions. It's kind of like when you're mixing cake batterand you see the swirls of where it's all mixing together. His voice gives layers of meaning to the words behind him."
"In poetry, developing the sound that is mine means everything to me," said Sundiata. And his sound is certainly nothing like anything else out there today.
Blending improvisational jazz and a mastery of the subtleties of the spoken word, Sundiata has been aptly dubbed a true modern day griot--a traditional African storyteller.
Sundiata is not selfish with his talent. As a professor of writing and literature at the New School for Social research in New York, he has helped many aspiring artists develop their own sound. His works exhibit a social conscience and truth that follow in the legacy of Dr. King. He is an artist and an activist.
Tonight he will be playing both roles simply by participating in the slam as part of the panel of judges. As Miller explains, the event "is meant to really bring people together, to read their words and hear the words of others and reflect."
The performance tonight will be the second poetry slam here at Dartmouth. Tony Luckett '01 started the tradition during last year's celebration by organizing a similar event.
This year, Mindy Chokalingam '01 will be taking over Luckett's role and emceeing the event.
The Student Poetry Slam with guest Sekou Sundiata will take place at 10:00 p.m. tonight in Alumni Hall. Admission is free.
