An Ice Storm Doesn’t Stop a Movement
Movement 515 never lets MLK Day pass without some passion. Whether it’s a rally on the statehouse steps or a spirited march through the downtown Des Moines skywalks, the student-activists always take advantage of the day off from school to practice what’s preached in the Urban Leadership curriculum at Central Campus.
This year the agenda was upended by the weather. But rain and ice didn’t dampen the cause or the spirit.
Originally, plans were twofold: A Youth Summit around the theme of “Flippin’ the Script” for the future was scheduled at the Elim Christian Fellowship (525 E. 9th Street) under the joint auspices of DMPS, the YMCA, United Way, DMACC and the Evelyn K. Davis Center. Make a note that it’s been rescheduled for Saturday, February 11.
But the other element, Movement 515’s “Community for King” Spoken Word Poetry Workshop at King Elementary School, was reimagined and reconfigured into a virtual event.
This time the space the poets shared had to be cyber.
Plan B consisted of a series of writing prompts that were posted on Movement 515 social media. A writing prompt is a “starter” to provoke thought or repeat throughout a poem.
- It was all a dream…
- They asked me if I had a dream…
- The strength of love is like…
- Dear ______ (related to someone responsible for an issue) …
- Sixteen bars for (shout-out to a hero) …
Also serving as a prompt was a reflective five-minute composite video created by Elhondra Brazzle, a senior at East and member of the RunDSM Youth Board. You can check out the video here.
“The storm is pretty upsetting because we always plan something to celebrate (Dr.) King and it’s really important to our movement…to spread activism around our city,” said Elhondra from home on Monday afternoon. “The thought of six year-olds and 60 year-olds in the same room was really moving to all of us. But the plan B is just as powerful and moving as our original plan…It’s like one big workshop over the internet and the feedback we are getting is the reason why (Kristopher) Rollins and (Emily) Lang started Movement in the first place…We want to touch people any way we can and just because there’s a storm doesn’t mean we stop, it just means we come up with something else to reach people…One thing we never want to do is let something get in the way of our mission. If one thing doesn’t work then something else will…I’ve learned being around (M515) that you never stop trying to kick down doors, you keep going until you do.”
And really, for a poet, what is an ice storm if not a metaphor, especially in the context of a topic like racial tensions in America?
