The Brave Voices of DMPS Students
Julio Delgadillo, a sophomore at North High School, took the title of Grand Slam Champion at the 3rd annual Teen Poetry Slam.
Last night, in the grandeur of the Temple for Performing Arts in downtown Des Moines and with not an empty seat in the hall, words were spat … snaps were snapped … and votes tallied to determine which six students will represent Des Moines this summer at the Brave New Voices Festival in Atlanta.
It was the 3rd annual Teen Poetry Slam sponsored by Movement 515. Fourteen students took to the stage as the evening began. Were they poets? Spoken word artists? Maybe it doesn’t matter what they were called. Maybe what matters is that each and every one of them was fearless, smart, funny, clever, brave, heart-warming, heart-breaking, honest and real.
“Last night was an unforgettable evening of spoken word poetry,” said Emily Lang, a teacher at Central Campus and Urban Art Coordinator for the school district who MCed the event. “Huge shout-out to Des Moines Public Schools, Des Moines Performing Arts, and United Way of Central Iowa for continuing to support our young people by providing them platforms to share their truth.”
It’s a little cliché to say that “everyone’s a winner,” but in this case all of the students won when they found their voices. But in the end, the judges’ ballots – cast by a panel that included Superintendent Tom Ahart – had to be tallied.
Julio Delgadillo, a sophomore at North High School, took the title of Grand Slam Champion. He will be joined in Atlanta by:
- Susan Stacy (senior, Hoover)
- Apple Amos (senior, East)
- Courtnei Caldwell (Junior, Hoover)
- Elhondra Brazzle (sophomore, East)
- Hatte Kelley (senior, North)
Best wishes to these students who will represent Des Moines with pride.
