If I Had One Question: Chris COMRADE Goodman

“Can’t do the same thing then expect to make a difference” ~Chris COMRADE Goodman

I’m not sure how I ended up there, but one day I found myself attending a forum on my then-campus, Morgan State, discussing the “school to prison pipeline”. The discussion highlighted (if I remember correctly) the inadequacies of the education system, the chronic state of underfunding in inner city schools and the low achievement, high dropout rates that correspond with high rates of youth imprisonment in certain communities. Organizing this event was a passionate young activist who I had seen leading protests on campus. That in itself was impressive.

Yet Chris COMRADE Goodman had so much more up his sleeve. This young activist is not only out on the streets speaking out against social injustices, he’s got a lot to say in the booth as well. An extremely talented hip hop artist, COMRADE has combined his lyrical skills and social awareness to create a movement that’s far bigger than hip hop. He has produced some fantastic music videos, using the internet as his medium for making his work known. His videos, which tell great stories, can be viewed on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/officialcomrademuzic. Chris has recently released his first professional album, Raw Re Cord which is available for free on his website http://www.comrademuzic.com.

I had the opportunity to ask this inspiring man one question: What impact do you hope to have through what you do? This was his answer...

Megaphones & Microphones

I remember when I was 15, it had to be about seven of us at the School System Headquarters on North Ave; I was a young organizer for the Baltimore Algebra Project preparing for my first major protest. All of the meetings and civil disobedience trainings helped me feel confident about the situation I was getting into but the emotions were pretty overwhelming sitting in the office of Baltimore City School’s CEO. The secretary asked us if we had a meeting scheduled we told him No, but we were here to meet with the CEO and we were not leaving until we met with her. Within seconds, it seems like, the police stormed in and had us in handcuffs. Six high school students and the Director of the program were heading to the basement of the School System Headquarters which is ironically a Police Headquarters as well. Looking back on the Sit-In, it revealed a glimpse of the power youth hold to really make a bold statement for social justice.

As we were being processed, police officers were insulting us saying we were stupid and were throwing our lives away, not knowing that we were well prepared and spent months organizing the Sit-in. Within 20 minutes we were released and no charges were filed against us because the Police Dept. and CEO Dr. Copeland did not expect high school students to organize a Sit-IN with hundreds of students outside of the School System Headquarters with news cameras on the 50th Anniversary of Brown vs. Board of Education. That following morning we had a formal meeting with CEO Dr. Copeland.

These experiences are the roots of COMRADEmuzic. My writings are inspired by my political frustration. As the writings turned to rhymes at 16 years old, my bold statements took the form of songs. The growth of the “muzic” movement entails the struggles, emotions and happiness of the global, multifaceted, experiences of Comrades and Comrets.

COMRADEmuzic is a global soundtrack, it’s a movement. Before Comrades go out and march, you can listen to a song and get into that warrior mood. You can hear a song that inspires creativity and a new way of viewing things. There’s no real box, just pure expression of natural emotions and social movement. So at the end of it all I want my music and my life to inspire, empower and activate Comrades and Comrets throughout the world around the understanding that we have the power to love, heal and create new realities.

If I Had One Question for Anthony Anaxagorou

Poetry is a hymn sung into the ruins of a man. ~ Anthony Anaxagorou, A Sad Dance

Creative living means allowing yourself to be inspired because inspiration can change your life. One of the highlights of my summer occurred when I was blown away by the poem If I Told You by artist Anthony Anaxagorou (Listen to the poem. Go ahead, do it now. I’ll wait). I have not been the same since.

Anthony is a writer, poet and spoken word artist based out of London. At age 28 he has already published several books, has been sharing his work through radio, television (including BBC), and has even toured alongside hip hop artist Akala. Anthony not only inspires, he educates. He has done workshops with the Poetry Society as well as the Hip Hop Shakespeare Company and Royal Shakespeare Company. He constantly encourages us through his poetry (and on twitter) to read beyond the typical “curriculum” and educate ourselves.

If I had one question for Anthony it’s this: What impact do you hope to have through what you do?

This was his answer:

I think that with any communicative role regardless of sector or vocation, one will always hold in prized esteem the great possibility of influence that such a position can create. If I may be so bold as to say that I write poetry for the unhindered reason that inwrought within my emotional expression is a singular anguish so profound, so ineffable that without the aid of the poetic medium I would undoubtedly self-destruct. As with most artful endeavours the work spawns from an internal dialogue, ideas ricochet off the walls of the soul's creative canyons and the artist in turn looks for ways to articulate and express his/her unfounded sentiments.

I try to write with no pretence. I write for others but I believe others also to be myself. There is no experience that is solely exclusive to one man or woman; we all undergo similar happenings throughout the course of life and I find it true to say that the artist is one who is responsible for holding firm the frightened hand of the human race. Through my work I not only hope to deliver a feeling of solace but to uplift and edify my readers with those gentle nuances that suggest we all have a right to know as well as a right to feel and recognize our emotions. I celebrate love and loss through what some deem as being dark and morbid tenets, but I am yet to find the person who can present the loss of love, or the burial of a loved one, or the rage against political injustice with a jubilant oversight. Does a fire not burn when at its peak?

Poetry also has the propensity to alienate its global readers, catering rather notoriously for a select few who regard the art form as more of an elitist club writing only to meet the standards and approvals of other fellow poets. As much as this is true there is also another side to poetry that given half the chance will prove that it has always been dormant in the undercurrent of human existence – the unframed imputes that without effort gives us the will and courage to make our daring steps into the wild future.

Many perceive the art of poetry as being an antiquated verse form that presents itself in vague and unfamiliar wording patterns, nonsensical ideas or rhyming couplets that bear the cheesy hallmarks of GCSE English lessons. I used to sit with members of that notion until I found a world waiting to be discovered far away from rigid curriculum models. Through my years of private study I now delight in the sharing of poetry’s greatest gift – its ability to rekindle the human spirit at any given time or age. My message as a poet has grown ever more palpable. At the age of 28 I remind myself that we never suffer alone and it’s that which has been the driving maxim behind much of my work - be it page poetry or the spoken word. I hope to show people that working class kids, who teachers deemed as hyperactive and disruptive can too make their mark in the world of high art, whilst not losing sight of what it means to be a sentient being.

I hope that I am able to endow readers and listeners with the same assurance and lift that once found me during life’s more demanding and tenuous hours. The only thing that matters to me is that when one person falls they can be sure that the strength of another will be there to help lift and stable them again, up until their own feet are able to sustain the weight of their entire load. Art is not new. Rather it’s an invisible touch that implies no matter how dark the depths can get a cathartic light will eventually grow to spread out of you, regardless of who you are. To quote British poet Patience Agbabi, ‘Some of my greatest wounds have healed into poems.’