Outspoken Arts Collective hosts Poetry Café for Black History Month

Jai’Den Smith Staff Writer

The members of Outspoken Arts Collective stunned their classmates with breathtaking performances at their Poetry Café on Feb. 8, 2023. Many students watched as they performed original pieces that had the audience hooked.

The event took place in Starbucks, located on the first floor of the H.T. Sampson Library, and joined the many Black History Month programs hosted at Jackson State University.

Outspoken Arts Collective is an organization dedicated to bringing all student body artists together to share and exercise their craft. The organization includes a collection of young talented artists, performers, singers, rappers, photographers, musicians, and poets.

The performance-based group aspires to create a welcoming community for all students interested in voicing their emotions and experiences.

Jamie McAdoo performed an original poem titled “Admire Me” that received much praise from the crowd. McAdoo, a senior journalism and media studies major from Little Roc, Ark., currently serves as Miss Outspoken for the 2022-23 school year.

She stated that the poem was inspired by the idea that all women are pieces of art and should be treated as such. McAdoo’s passion for poetry was on full display on stage.

“My passion for the arts is what motivates me to perform,” said McAdoo. “I love the emotions that spoken word poetry can invoke in audiences and I feel free as I share my experiences on paper and on stage.”

Another performer who took the hearts of the crowd was Jasmine Thomas, a graduate student majoring in journalism and media studies major from Jackson, Miss.

Thomas, who currently serves as a DA for Alexander Hall, claimed to have experience in writing poetry since she was eight years old.

Her piece was titled “The Eternal One Night Stand” where she expresses the internal struggles of love and the complications of these feelings at a young age.

“I wrote this piece before deciding to enter into a season of celibacy. It gave me the courage to let go of all the anger and open a new chapter,” said Thomas. “I still desired and deserved real love.”

Parker DeLoach, a senior business administration major from Chicago, Ill., entertained the crowd with his performance of his song “Away” featuring Ekio, Quin B and Eli. He also serves as a mentor of the Outspoken, offering support and guidance for newer members.

“My motivation for sharing my art is simply rooted from how music makes me feel,” said DeLoach. “I know what music does for me and makes me feel every day, so I just want to share that love and energy every chance I get.”

Not all performers were a part of Outspoken, but they still took advantage of the opportunity to perform.

Dorian Coleman, a junior criminal justice major from Chicago, Ill., performed her poem “I Forgive You”. She was inspired by the complications of her emotions after the ending of her relationship. She noticed she blamed herself for the downfall of the relationship but found clarity in forgiveness.

“Overall, ‘I Forgive You’ is just a message to myself and a release of those past feelings. When you first hear it, you think I’ve forgiven them, when really, I’m forgiving myself,” Coleman stated.

Rufus Carl Jones, a junior interdisciplinary studies major from Montgomery, Ala., got the crowd hype with his performance of “Closeatomine” and “Search Far Too Hard”. He took a different route by performing live music and it was a crowd pleaser.

He was motivated to perform because he knows that this year his music is supposed to be heard.

The energy in Starbucks was amazing as students supported and cheered on their classmates. The participating students brought all different types of styles and individuality to the stage and rocked the house.

For those who missed this event, Outspoken plans two more showcases this spring: Exposed and Resistance is Fuel.