All of the awful things happening in America over the past few weeks have triggered me to think a lot as I read different perspectives. These tragedies have impacted the lives of so many. People who have never met the victims have a connection to the tragedy because this is something that just as well could have happened to them. And even though the media only shows its viewers the most popular, gruesome, horrific, and controversial stories, many of these subjects are relevant to viewers who never had the opportunity to seek justice or whose experiences were not "significant" enough to become a news story.

I have collected videos of spoken word poetry that express important subjects in ways that demand to be spoken out loud that touch upon some of these subjects.

1. "Phases" by Kevin Kantor and Sienna Burnett

"If anyone waits for you to backwards become yourself
tell them you're sorry that they'd rather live in darkness
than learn to love your light
Learn to love your flicker flash irradiation
Learn to love you full moon
And even on the days when you hang just a silver in the sky
holding on for dear life to this rock like you're in a death grip tango with the sun
Hold on
Because I've seen people I love starve themselves out of the sky".
-- "Phases", Kevin Kantor and Sienna Burnett

2. "The Chambers of a Gun" by Zanne Langlois

"As soon as our eyes are dry, we shut them again".
-- "The Chambers of a Gun", Zanne Langlois

3. "Paper Dolls" by Sierra Demulder

"Some days you will feel dirty.
Some weeks you’ll remember how hard it is to breathe in public,
but know this:
the person who did this to you is broken. Not you.
The person who did this to you is out there,
choking on the glass of his chest.
It is a windshield
and his heartbeat is a baseball bat:
regret this, regret this.
Nothing was stolen from you.
Your body is not a hand-me-down.
There is nothing that sits inside you holding your worth,
no locket that can be seen or touched,
fucked from your stomach to be left on concrete.
I know it’s hard to feel perfect
when you can’t tell an Adam’s apple from a fist.
Some ashtray of a man picked you to play his Eden
but I will not watch you collapse".

-- "Paper Dolls", Sierra DeMulder

4."A Letter to the Girl I Used to Be" by Ethan Smith

"The year you turned 11
Was the first time you said out loud that you didn’t want to live anymore
In therapy you said you wouldn’t make it to 21
On my 21st birthday I thought about you
You were right
At 19 you started to fade
I tried to cross you out like a line in my memoir
I wished I could erase completely
And maybe I’m misunderstanding the definition of death
But even though parts of you still exist
You are not here
Most of my friends have never heard your name until now"

-- "A Letter to the Girl I used to Be", Ethan Smith

5. "Terrorism is not a Religion" by Hersi

" And such radical quotes were only taken as a joke
But how long can a joke go before you start to think
Is this the only thing they know?”
-- "Terrorism is not a Religion", Hersi

6. "A Touch of Sexual Assault" by Kayley Dixon

" And we will live in fear

we will run home so that we will

never see the same men again

that wait for us to be alone".

-- "A Touch of Sexual Assault", Kayley Dixon

7. "1-800 White Man Privilege Hotline" by Denice Frohman

"Please do not ask our white men about their privilege, as they do no know they have it.
Call the "White Man Privilege" Hotline now.
Note: we only accept MasterCard."
"1-800-White Man Privilege Hotline", Denice Frohman

8. "I Am NOT Black, You are NOT White" by Prince Ea

"And it is an undeniable fact that
When there is division, there will be conflict
And conflict starts wars
There-fore every war has started over labels
It's always us... versus them
So the answer to war, racism, sexism, and every other -ism
Is so simple that every politician has missed it
It’s the labels...
We must rip them off
Isn't it funny how no baby is born racist
Yet, every baby cries when they hear the cries of another
No matter the gender, culture or color
Proving that deep down, we were meant to connect and care for each other
That is our mission, and that it's not my opinion
That is the truth in a world that has sold us fiction
Please listen, labels only distort our vision
Which is why half of those watching this will dismiss it
Or feel resistance and conflicted".

"I Am NOT Black, You are NOT White", Prince Ea