On April 11, Delta College hosted Straight Out Scribes, a mother-daughter poetry duo, at the Tony Fitch forum. The event offered students an open mic for poetry reading and performance.
Based in Sacramento, Straight Out Scribes travels around Northern California to perform at colleges, art centers and poetry events. Mama Staajabu and her daughter, Dr. V.S. Chochezi, have performed for more than 30 years. The award-winning duo has published seven books of poetry and short stories.
Delta’s Ethnic Studies department chair and associate professor, Dr. Malika Hollinside, organized the event for students to express themselves through poetry. While being a professor on campus for three years, Dr. Hollinside was allowed to bring something special to campus.
Delta’s Cultural Awareness Program (CAP) is a committee that supports programs or campus events that promote community healing with unity, equity and social justice. Faculty, staff and student groups can apply for the CAP funding application. However, rules and regulations may apply, according to Delta’s website.
“I’m very grateful for Dr. Seekatz and the CAP program for allowing us to make this happen,” said Dr. Hollinside. “The event was very, very moving. It was an amazing opportunity for students to emote and vent.”
The Straight Out Scribes not only recite poetry to the students, but their performance also asks for audience participation. Students had to do 10 minutes of a writing exercise. Once they were done, the floor was offered to students to recite their poetry.
Heaven Usery was invited by her friend, Delta ethnic studies student Latoya Mitchell, to attend the poetic event. During the writing activity, Usery wanted to read her poem out loud. For all her passion for writing, this was the first poem she had ever written.
“It was very enlightening,” said Usery. “I got a chance to share some of my poetry and it was my first poem… And with this experience, I learned to be a little more courageous. I’m happy I got to attend this event.”
With the knowledge and experience of event support from the CAP program, Dr. Hollinside is excited about future events.
“Now that I have one event under my belt, I’m certainly going to continue to bring more events. As a matter of fact, it’s one of the goals of the ethnic studies department to continue providing motivational speakers, programs, and engaging activities on campus. It’s important to involve all ethnic backgrounds and to celebrate each other’s cultures,” said Dr. Hollinside.