Deep is on the radio!
Today Georgia Public Broadcasting’s “On Second Thought” with Celeste Headlee showcased Deep Center. The show aired throughout Georgia and the southeast, including Atlanta.
If you missed the broadcast you can hear an archived version here.
The story features a mention of Deep’s National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award and Deep poet Justin reading his poem, “Breathe.” Justin (grad of the Young Author Project, current member of Block by Block) explains how he wrote the powerful poem in response to seeing bullying in his school. This is a great example of how when Deep talks about literacy and creative self-expression, we’re talking about youth leadership and adding youth perspectives to critical topics in our community.
We are sad that Savannah is experiencing a surge in gun violence this year (at the time of this post, three shootings with 6 injuries in just the last 24 hours), and too often the victims are children and adolescents. When the Savannah media talk about the young people in our communities, it’s usually only in relation to these incidents. Hearing a 14-year-old boy read a powerful poem he wrote in response to the culture of violence (in this case bullying) he experienced in his middle school is a potent reminder of the importance of young people disrupting negative narratives.
Besides that, Justin’s poem is also just plain beautiful. You can read it here.