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Friday, December 24, 1999
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal
Trio of Watts poets help build self-esteem in troubled youths
By Scott Sonner
Associated Press
RENO -- At their best, they spur a suicide note -- the first cry for help from a troubled youth.
At their worst, the three poets leave an auditorium full of at-risk children feeling good about themselves, proud of their newfound talents, and shouting, "I am beautiful."
The Watts Prophets -- born from the ashes of Los Angeles' Watts riots in 1965 -- spin their magic today through rhythm, poetry and rap at schools, youth organizations and detention centers across the country.
"Poetry is the tool we use. It's easy to make kids understand there are no mistakes in poetry," said Richard Dedeaux, a member of the Watts Prophets.
"You can make no sense, or fantasize, or go into deep-rooted feelings," he said after a recent appearance in Reno.
"Some are funny, they turn it into jokes. Some talk about their daddy in prison or the abuse at home. It's very, very valuable -- to go inside kids' hearts and unleash these pent-up feelings."
Amde Hamilton, a priest in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, and Otis O'Solomon make up the rest of the trio from California. Their promotional fliers say they tell stories from the ghetto with poetry and rhythm, "a uniquely African-American art form from which modern rap emerged."
Although the themes are the same, the tone has mellowed since the trio first started writing about racism, poverty and violence in 1967 at the Watts Writers Workshop, a local arts mecca set up by Budd Shulberg, the Academy Award-winning screenwriter of "On the Waterfront."
The sound of drums could be heard everywhere in Watts in those days, in the parks, on the streets, in the nightclubs, Hamilton said.
The rhythms echo through the trio's performances, in recent months at such varied places as Newark, N.J., Lincoln, Neb., Davenport, Iowa, and Santa Barbara, Calif.
Their next tour heads for Lawrence, Kan., Feb. 7-11; Memphis, Tenn., Feb. 14-20; Whittier Calif., March 8; Ann Arbor, Mich., April 3-8; and New Orleans, April 10-15.
They came to Nevada at the invitation of the Sierra Arts Council as part of its Children and Violence Project. Their message was a perfect fit, council spokeswoman Loni Harris said.
"We're trying to redirect at-risk students to focus any violent behavior toward the arts, poetry or writing or painting or performance," Harris said.
"The idea is put it down on paper rather than going out and acting on it," she said.
Sometimes "we have to hold some work back because it becomes too personal," Hamilton said.
"Kids will just burst out and start crying because they've never shared their feelings. They want to talk about what is on their mind," he said.
"When we visit a school, we about always end up with a suicide note -- someone crying out that no one listens to."
Hamilton said it usually is easier for a child to write down their feelings than talk to someone about them.
"The boys who shot at Columbine -- one of them had written it down," Hamilton said, referring to the April shooting incident at a Colorado High School that left 14 people dead. "They expressed themselves on paper beforehand. They couldn't express it to any adult or other kids. But he wrote it down."
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Printable version of this story
Otis O'Solomon, left, and Richard Dedeaux of the Watts Prophets encourage audience participation during their performance at Traner Middle School in Reno on Sept. 14. The Watts Prophets, born from the ashes of Los Angeles' Watts riots in 1965, spin their magic today through rhythm, poetry and rap at schools, youth organizations and detention centers across the country.
Photo by Associated Press
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