2022 represents the 6th edition of the Annual Oratorical & Spoken Word event, which honors Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and promotes his vision for civil rights and justice for all people. This year's theme was "A Time To Break Silence." The event is hosted by The Office of the Vice President for Diversity and Community Affairs.
International and Comparative Education Faculty and students alike are enormously proud of Kella Marlain-Moffatt, who won this year's event with a powerful spoken word piece titled: "Do Not Sleepwalk through Life." Kella is a masters student studying International Educational Development with a concentration in African Education. Click the following link to watch Kella's powerful performance, and read her winning words, below.
View Kella Merlain-Moffatt's full piece here (4min 58 - 8min 52)
Do Not Sleepwalk through Life
“The dreams of the colonial subject are muscular dreams, dreams of action, dreams of aggressive vitality. I dream I am jumping, swimming, running, and climbing. I dream I burst out laughing.” It makes so much sense that oppressed folks wish to have such physical manifestations of life given that we have been oppressed in such physical and violent ways. While I love that Fanon writes this, I hate that it is still relevant.
King once quipped, “The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically.” As affiliates of the TC community, I’d like to believe that we all find truth in this statement, and hold it in everything that we do. As actors of domestic and global stages, it is important to recognize that the ways in which we go about implementing policy must be critical in order to liberate ourselves from the shackles our present education systems have bound us to. If we do not, we risk further legitimizing the colonial edifice that has stunted our collective abilities to utilize critical consciousness. We risk further promotion of the status quo that is filled with silence, a lack of mobilization, and an ineptitude of deep care—not only for each other, but for ourselves… at our very cores.
If there is anything Dr. King’s works have taught me that I’d like to impart to you, it is this: Legacy is not in your last name but in how you’re able to impact others and continuously pass on knowledge.
Do not let yourself be limited. Knowing where you come from and understanding who you are, can help you effectively and meaningfully move forward in life. A lack of knowing yourself will only inhibit your ability to write the story you wish to narrate. When we’re children, we are amazing storytellers. We have these bright imaginations and master the ability to do that which is so difficult for many adults. Continuously. ask. why? In doing so, we push others to dig deep and unveil the answers that sometimes lie in plane sight and those that are intentionally hidden. As we grow, we lose this sense of inquisitiveness and gain a sense of rigidity. While we all have our different stories, the binds of our books begin to look similar. The conforming of our minds allows us to sleepwalk through life. Never breathing the air we were meant to breathe. But don’t you want to breathe freely?
I urge you to be critical of your positionality, to understand who you are, where you come from and know your story inside and out. It’s one of the ways you’ll be able to propel yourself and others forward. Ponder this: Do you know the legacy you wish to carry and pass on? When you find your answer, know that there may be obstacles on the journey to your final destination. Nevertheless, if you look closely you’ll find moments worth sharing. And when you do, pass them on to others and perhaps a cycle of uplifting one another can continue."