Spoken word poet begins Take Back the Night 2011 events
Omékongo Dibinga’s cousin died from AIDS last year after she contracted it from her pastor in the Congo. One of Dibinga’s other cousins is battling the disease now.
Dibinga, a spoken word poet and motivational speaker, read poetry and spoke Tuesday in the Milton Atrium of the Life Sciences Complex after audience members gave open mic performances against sexual violence. The event was coordinated by A Men’s Issue, which advocates against sexual violence.
‘Violence takes many forms,’ said Dibinga, who presented a series of talks about social justice issues, spanning the prison-industrial complex, rape, obesity, child abuse and civic engagement.
The event was also a prelude to Take Back the Night, a campus-wide annual initiative to raise awareness about attitudes that perpetuate violence hosted by the R.A.P.E Center. The Take Back the Night rally, march and speak-out will be held Wednesday in Hendricks Chapel at 7 p.m.
Before Dibinga spoke, students took the stage, reading poetry, performing improvisational theatre, singing and playing the guitar. Some students performed poems based on their personal tragedies, admitting it took some time to share their intimate stories.
Cedric Bolton, the first performer, said he lost a friend in college to domestic violence as he shared a poem called ‘Good Life.’
‘The poem I’m performing tonight, it’s taken a while for me to let it out. But now I want to share it with the world,’ said Bolton, a program coordinator in the Office of Multicultural Affairs.
Between student performances, members of A Men’s Issue would come forward and present facts on sexual violence. Seth Finkelstein, co-president of A Men’s Issue, said one in four men use violence in a relationship. Other facts presented included that one in eight men will experience sexual assault and that one in four college women will be sexually assaulted by the time they graduate.
Dibinga used anecdotes, such as the one about his cousin who is currently battling AIDS, to stress the importance of activism. He told another story about an 11-year-old boy who encountered ‘seven weeks of hell’ while being sexually abused by his pastor. He also addressed homelessness, highlighting injustices that a woman with no address might face if she does not possess an ID ‘to prove she’s part of humanity.’
‘Maybe tomorrow we can all spare some change,’ Dibinga said.
He said as many people as possible must become motivated to tackle the issue of violence, which is a global problem and not confined to one community.
Dibinga challenged audience members with a final poetry talk on using one’s skills to address social issues. He said there are plenty of loud voices that say nothing and that if people don’t engage in combating these issues, they are complying through silence.
‘I know because I used to be just like you,’ he said.
Wayne Meng, a freshman music industry major, said he agreed with Dibinga’s idea on how to tackle global issues.
‘Omékongo’s spoken word poetry is spreading a true image of how we should approach the problems of the world,’ he said.
Dibinga urged the audience to attend Wednesday’s Take Back the Night. He said the event would not be a sad day, but rather a tribute to survival and fighting.
‘Tomorrow we’re going to celebrate,’ he said. ‘You got a lot of work to do.’
— Staff Writer Rob Marvin contributed reporting to this article.
Published on April 12, 2011 at 12:00 pm
