De’Arbreya Lee
Staff Writer
Jackson State University’s spoken and written word organization, OutSpoken, hosted its third annual forum, Resistance is Futile: Where Poetry and Openness Meet, on Thursday, Feb. 24, 2011.
“To resist is to oppose or speak out against. To be futile is to be useless, therefore to just say and not do anything makes your opposition useless,” said Nicole Humphrey, a senior English major from Chicago, Ill., and president of OutSpoken.
The organization’s main mission is to educate through the arts. A poem is recited by an OutSpoken member, then the floor is opened for discussion.
Some of the topics of the night included diversity, Black History Month, relationships, voting, and the relevance of historically black colleges and universities.
Humphrey explained the reason why the topics were chosen.
“Many times, we are unaware of the power we possess over our own destiny. It’s important to address these issues because they affect our everyday life,” said Humphrey. “Instead of just throwing questions at the audience, we perform in an attempt to get them thinking.”
She added, “Poetry gives us a way to express our opinions about the subject creatively and artistically.”
Nneka Ayozie, a sophomore mass communications major from Jackson, Miss., believes the forum was relevant to students.
“It was really intellectual and I like the topics because they were college related,” said Ayozie.
JaColby Adams, a freshman psychology major from Monroe, La., was among the audience members who participated in the conversations discussed at the forum.
“The input was better than I expected it to be because I didn’t know that it was an open forum,” said Adams.
Adams stated that the forum changed some of her opinions about the topics discussed.
“I really enjoyed the experience. I enjoyed the intellectual conversation that I was able to have with my people. I learned to embrace certain parts of my culture,” said Adams.
Humphrey believes that the turnout was great, and would love to see thousands in attendance one day.
“I believe each person left with something they didn’t bring in, whether it be respect, understanding or inspiration,” said Humphrey.
OutSpoken holds these events every year and welcomes the participation of students, faculty and staff.
