Photo by Jamall Morris
Antonio Jackson
Variety Editor
The Harlem Renaissance was an intellectual and cultural revival of African-American music, dance, art, fashion, literature, theater, etc. centered in Harlem, N.Y., that lasted from the 1920s and 1930s. This cultural period was the spark for African-Americans to show their creativity without the filter of oppression. The result of that is the Jackson State University Outspoken Arts Collective.
On Thursday, Feb. 1, JSU Outspoken held the Resistance is Futile event in the Liberal Arts building. This event focused on allowing students within the organization to perform pieces of their art, ranging from rap, R&B, paintings, to even creative dances.
Each piece focused on varying issues that the people face within the black community. Topics such as racial stereotypes, being judged based only on skin tone, and the appearance of a black person were all channeled through each performer’s piece in a unique and engaging way.
Resistance is Futile has been staple event since the beginning of the Outspoken Arts Collective itself. Treniti Smith, also known as “Crtl” and OutSpoken president, speaks on the meaning behind this event and what students can take from it.
“Resistance is Futile is a staple Outspoken event. It’s been around since we’ve been founded in 2007. This event is about everything black! It’s about black struggle, black empowerment, just being black in general,” said Smith.
After each performance, students within the audience were given a question based on the subjects mentioned. Students were able to speak on their own personal experiences with being black, bringing the student body closer together through shared trauma and struggles.
“We like to pose questions after the performances to be able to get insight on topics, because if you don’t open the conversation, it’ll never get talked about. I think that’s one the black community struggles with: talking about hard topics,” Smith elaborates.
One of the many performances during the event was a spoken word, written and performed by Jada Fulton, an Outspoken member. According to the poetryfoundation.org, spoken words are characterized by rhyme, repetition, improvisation, and word play, spoken word poems frequently refer to issues of social justice, politics, race, and community. Related to slam poetry, spoken word may draw on music, sound, dance, or other kinds of performance to connect with audiences.
Fulton shares what Resistance is Futile means to her and how it influenced her writing process.
“We’ve been doing this since the founding of Outspoken. It’s an event to emphasize black excellence we have here at Jackson State. To me, personally, I feel like this is a very powerful event, because my pieces aren’t always the most serious. Sometimes it’s just whatever is on my heart or mind. I feel like this topic really made me tap in with what’s going on in our black community and how it’s affecting me, personally”
The Outspoken Arts Collective dedicates and prides itself on keeping black morale high and to amplify the black voice in any way it sees fit.
