Teenagers from Anacostia High School rushed into the auditorium of the University of the District of Columbia, posed for photos, and got ready to deliver spoken-word readings at their book launch party Wednesday.
The students were there to celebrate the publication of their collection of poems, essays and images in “Through My Anacostia Eyes,” a project made possible through a collaboration between the University of the District of Columbia, the U.S. Department of the Interior, Conservation Nation and several D.C. agencies along with the Justice40 Initiative summer internship. Justice40 Initiative was established in an executive order by President Joe Biden to provide guidance to federal agencies on tackling pollution.
Caroline Brewer, an author and literacy consultant who edited the book, cheered on the teenagers as they took the stage.
“Let’s give it up for Anacostia High School students!” she called out, as the students lined up to share their work.
NeKaeyla Roach, whose outgoing personality was on full display as she confidently stepped up to the microphone, related the stark reality that faces so many young people in neighborhoods such as hers in D.C.
She described the confusion over whether the “pop, pop, pops” heard on the streets are fireworks or gunshots. “The world I live in, you don’t make it until 16, and I know for a fact, that’s one of our biggest fears,” she read.
Dewan Hemsley read from his poem, “What You Don’t Know About Me.”
“I lost a lot of people to gun violence … I’m from a place where bullets don’t have no names,” before concluding with, “I’m from a place named Washington, D.C. Southeast.”
Jeremiah Wright took the stage and while describing the harsh realities many students face, added, “Growing up here is hard as a rock, but you will see a lot of motivation in my eyes.”
That motivation and their potential are things that Brewer wants people to see in the students. She urges adults to listen to young people, and to see them — really see them.
“Give young people a chance to have a say in what’s happening in their lives,” Brewer said.
While many of the poems focused on the violence to which the teens are exposed, student Kahri Borum said that despite Anacostia’s reputation, “As you can see, we got this amazing opportunity to make a book, to create a book.”
She read a poem imagining herself as a blue jay. Borum said she’s learned that blue jays are protective. And that struck a chord with her.
“Coming from the type of community that I come from, everybody should feel protected or be protected,” Borum said.
Having taken part in the program, which included environmental and outdoor education, as well as writing the book, Borum said she’s rethinking her plans for the future.
She said she would like to create programs, such as the one that she’s taken part in, “to help kids find themselves and do exactly what I’m doing right now.”
As part of the program, the students got to explore the natural world that surrounds them, including exploring the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens and taking boat trips on the Anacostia River.
Keveon Graves reflected on the growth he has experienced in the program, one of which was working on his public speaking — something he described as scary before doing the readings. He also said that when he has a home of his own, he would like to have a garden because, “It seems fun, and calming.”
In coming up with a group poem, Brewer asked the students for their thoughts about what the Anacostia River has witnessed over the generations. One student said she “felt the river would love peace, and I thought that was so profound because that’s what all human beings crave. That’s what we know the world is craving right now.”
