Sayda Morales video-

Some may recall that I sent around a poem written and performed by Sayda Morales, an alum of the original KIPP Academy in the Bronx who was then a 10^th grader at my daughters' school.  It was one of the most powerful things I'd ever heard – she is UNBELIEVABLY talented, both in what she writes and how she performs it – but unfortunately I didn't video it so instead I could only send around the words (which are also very powerful; see: http://www.nightingale.org/commoninc/pushpage/182/default.asp?send_id=&volume_id=31695&user_id=&mode=preview&all=1&news_id=505109; Sayda also wrote a poem about what KIPP is all about and what it means to her that's 45 seconds of KIPP's national Welcome Video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbN9V_hLmcQ; it begins 37 seconds into it).

 

Last night, Sayda did it again, this time performing two poems: the first is entitled "I Am From" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJZEvZL_X7g) and the second is a tribute to her mother (who was in the audience), Para Ti Mi Hija ("For you, my daughter") (www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENCJAz5O30s).  I videoed them and am sharing them with her permission (she wrote: "Thank you so very much for supporting me every step of the way! The videos were amazing and my family loved them! Feel free to post them to your blog; I support what you are doing by bring forth topics of discussion and controversy.").  Each is 3 minutes and I promise that this will be 6 minutes of your life well spent.  Enjoy!

 

(Note that 54 seconds into the first video, she gives a tribute to KIPP, saying, "I am from a team and a family helping me climb the mountain to college".)