Skip to main content
Donate

Youth Poets Tell Stories That the World Needs to Hear

May 1, 2017
Support Provided By
Get Lit Logo

In collaboration with Get Lit: Get Lit NOW is a new weekly series by the youth of Get Lit – Words Ignite. Listen to the poets respond to breaking news and celebrate free thought. #THINK

“The Revolution Will Not Be Televised”
Diane Luby Lane, founder of Get Lit

How does this issue affect you or your community?

Diane Luby Lane: The theme of our Classic Slam this year is “revolution,” inspired by the famous Gil Scott-Heron poem. What we hope to inspire in our youth is the idea that it is in their hands to say something that the world needs to hear. The Classic Slam is a live event … it’s the largest youth classic poetry festival in the world. By bringing together schools from all over Southern California, we create an incredible energy of diversity and strength. Kids meet, freestyle and bond, which would never have happened otherwise.
 
They share the issues that matter to them through their poetry. Then, their poems are filmed to be broadcast across the world where family, friends, teachers, strangers and even world leaders will see them.
 
So we’re combining live magic with the power of technology. We’re showing youth that poetry is policy. That words are actions.
 
And I think it makes our community more truthful, more accountable, more cohesive and more interesting. I’m grateful for our youth and I’m grateful for their revolutionary spirit. We need it now, more than ever.

Support Provided By
Read More
Gray industrial towers and stacks rise up from behind the pitched roofs of warehouse buildings against a gray-blue sky, with a row of yellow-gold barrels with black lids lined up in the foreground to the right of a portable toilet.

California Isn't on Track To Meet Its Climate Change Mandates. It's Not Even Close.

According to the annual California Green Innovation Index released by Next 10 last week, California is off track from meeting its climate goals for the year 2030, as well as reaching carbon neutrality by 2045.
By Alejandro Lazo, CalMatters
A row of cows stands in individual cages along a line of light-colored enclosures, placed along a dirt path under a blue sky dotted with white puffy clouds.

A Battle Is Underway Over California’s Lucrative Dairy Biogas Market

California is considering changes to a program that has incentivized dairy biogas, to transform methane emissions into a source of natural gas. Neighbors are pushing for an end to the subsidies because of its impact on air quality and possible water pollution.
By Emma Foehringer Merchant, Inside Climate News
A Black woman with long, black brains wears a black Chicago Bulls windbreaker jacket with red and white stripes as she stands at the top of a short staircase in a housing complex and rests her left hand on the metal railing. She smiles slightly while looking directly at the camera.

Los Angeles County Is Testing AI's Ability To Prevent Homelessness

In order to prevent people from becoming homeless before it happens, Los Angeles County officials are using artificial intelligence (AI) technology to predict who in the county is most likely to lose their housing. They would then step in to help those people with their rent, utility bills, car payments and more so they don't become unhoused.
By Marisa Kendall, CalMatters