‘Spreading Black girl magic’: Berkeley student orators as young as 7 celebrate Harlem Renaissance in poetry and speeches

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Valentina Wilson-Pacheco performs a selection from a Zora Neale Hurston essay as part of a duo that won first place at BUSD’s 7th annual Black History Oratorical Fest on Wednesday, March 26. Credit: Myron Caringal

Some of Berkeley’s most linguistically gifted elementary, middle and high school students performed spoken word poetry and speeches to honor leaders of the Harlem Renaissance last week during the school district’s annual oratorical festival celebrating Black History.

The tournament-style competition has taken place since 2018. The theme this year was the “New Negro Movement,” commonly known as the Harlem Renaissance, a period during the 1920s and 1930s when African American art, culture and pride flourished.

“I can’t think of any other districtwide event that brings all schools together in this way,” Kamar O’Guinn, BUSD’s African American Success manager, told Berkeleyside.

Berkeley students prepared months in advance to perform original and published works about the Harlem Renaissance and its visionaries — figures like Langston Hughes, Duke Ellington and Zora Neale Hurston. Students were judged in two divisions: grades 3 to 5 and grades 6 to 12.

Berkeley student orators as young as 7 participated in the event. Credit: Myron Caringal

Jazz Monique Hudson, a former Oakland Unified student and award-winning artist and activist, was the event’s master of ceremonies.

“We honor linkage, truth-telling, freedom fighters, ancestors, prophets and protectors. They spoke, they marched, they wrote, they danced, they dreamed, and these young voices here, they’re remembering, remixing and reclaiming our history,” Hudson said at the event.

Jazz Monique Hudson, a former Oakland Unified student and award-winning artist and activist, hosted the festival. She previously participated in a similar oratorical event as a student in Oakland. Credit: Vanessa Arredondo

Oratorical fests have a long history in the East Bay, celebrating and uplifting Black art, culture and community. One of the original events, Oakland’s MLK Jr. Oratorical Fest, was founded in 1978. Since then, thousands of students have participated in the program, which has launched similar events in nearby school districts and served as a launching pad for young people into the performing arts.

At the Berkeley festival Wednesday, children as young as 7 and college-bound high school seniors came together on the Oxford Auditorium stage paying tribute to Black leaders and culture.

Rahwa Kiflemaryam, a third grader at Malcolm X Elementary who came to the U.S. two years ago from Eritrea, performed an original poem called “My Power.”

“My Black skin, my language, my culture give me power. I am powerful because I am me,” he said to thundering applause. His poem won him second place in the younger division.

Rahwa Kiflemaryam, a third grader at Malcolm X Elementary, won second place for his poem called “My Power.” Credit: Myron Caringal

Valentina Wilson-Pacheco and Cataleya Olivier from Sylvia Mendez Elementary School performed a selection from Zora Neale Hurston’s 1920 essay “How it Feels to be Colored Me.” The duo, dressed in clothing reminiscent of 1920s flappers, won first place for their interpretation.

Inspired by a movement over a century old, a few pieces aimed to connect the social enlightenment spurred by the Harlem Renaissance to contemporary issues still impacting Black Americans today.

“The policeman actively siding with the white mobs, participating in a dance of violence. The shackles are still there,” Willard Middle School student Eden Wondimalem read from her original poem, “Echoes of the Past.”

The group Young Gifted and Black performs. Credit: Myron Caringal

Teddy (John) Moore, a student at Willard Middle School, won first place in the older students’ division for his original poem “Harlem.”

“This is not a renaissance. This is a revolution where our culture developed, and America must listen,” he said.

Tahirah Jones, a 12th-grade Berkeley Tech Academy student, performed “To a Dark Girl,” by Gwendolyn Bennett. She placed second in the older student division.

“I chose this piece because I love being a Black girl,” she told the audience. “It’s hard to be us in a society filled with hate and envy. But we keep shining through and we spread Black girl magic.”

Berkeley students performed spoken word poetry and speeches honoring leaders of the Harlem Renaissance. Credit: Myron Caringal

The first BUSD Black History Oratorical Fest competition was created in 2018 to uplift Black voices, bring the community together and develop Berkeley students’ public speaking skills. The event was held virtually during the pandemic, but has otherwise been in person.

“The vision was to create a space that our children deserve to be seen in, respected in, connected to and heard,” Hudson said during the event. “They dreamed of a space where students could raise their voices and see themselves reflected in the mirror of history. This is not just about reciting speeches and poems, it’s about legacy and the future of our youth.”