By Samantha Cohen

On Tuesday evening, “Black Monologues” allowed students and staff to have the opportunity to share their experiences through spoken word poetry, poetry reading and monologues. The event was held in the Prince George’s Room in the Stamp Student Union. 

The event brought the Black community on campus together for a night of entertainment, and the smaller scale enabled the performers to feel comfortable sharing their poems without the fear of being judged. 

“I think this is a safe space and I think to be able to just express yourself freely is very important,” said Dawn Roy, a Senior IRB Analyst for the Human Research Protection Office at the University of Maryland. 

When Roy heard about the event, she thought of her parents encouraging her to perform. Growing up in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, her parents experienced racism and prejudice through most of their adult life. Seeing how they overcame their struggle encouraged Roy to speak on the racism she sees today. 

Her poem, “Breathe” was written four years ago as a way to release her emotions and anger following George Floyd’s murder. 

“My favorite line was, ‘I wanna breathe.’ Within the past four years [racism] has become just out of control and being African American, it feels as though I can’t breathe because of what’s going on in America — it’s suffocating,” Roy said. 

Along with staff members, students were highlighted as well. 

Jade Blackmoore, a freshman environmental science and policy major, recently began spoken word poetry and jumped on the opportunity to share her poem, “The Amateur Poet’s Long Night.”

“It’s one thing to write it down, but it’s an entirely different thing to find the courage to just perform in front of people,” Blackmoore said. 

Her poem focused on finding the beauty among places that seem ruined, including historical buildings and ancient ruins. 

“My favorite line [from my poem] I would say is ‘scars decorate this perfect form, ruined is only ruined when no one is able to love it anymore,’” Blackmoore said. 

Each poem came with a different important message, including poems highlighting African culture.

With her name being misspelled and mispronounced her whole life, senior mechanical engineering and creative writing major Ijeoma Asonye wanted to share her experiences through a lighthearted, funny poem. 

“People telling me I can’t chase my dreams but also mispronouncing my name. How do you even know me?” Asonye said. 

In her poem, she says to “answer the banana phone, answer the fake phone” as she believes she’s been called upon to chase her dreams with the name she’s been given. Her name means “Have a safe journey.” 

Asonye’s second poem was about Nigerian food. 

“‘If they saw my stuff as fast food and popular, America would be full by now’…I think it’s very poetic to compare food to the idea of filling someone’s soul up with words and knowledge from another race or another part of the world.’” 

The performers felt the event went well despite the small turnout. Blackmoore encourages everyone to come to events like these, whether it be to perform or to support a friend. 

“The goal of [the event] was to highlight Black voices at UMD and that’s what we did,” Blackmoore said.

Featured Image: An online poster promoting the event. Photo from Multicultural Involvement and Community Advocacy at the University of Maryland.