Sewickley Academy Celebrates Black History Month with Poet Kurtis Lamkin

Mr. Lamkin performed for the Middle and Senior Schools on Monday, February 13, in Rea Auditorium. The assembly began with Director of Equity, Inclusion, and Service Learning Mrs. LaVern Burton briefly sharing the significance of Black History Month. Using terminology from her area of expertise, she said, “I identify as black or African-American and grew up hearing stories and history from that culture, and those stories are often missing from history lessons. Those stories are not just black history, similarly to women’s history or Native-American history, they are a part of American History.”

 

Following Mrs. Burton, freshman Morgan Martin from the African-American Culture Club introduced the guest artist. Mr. Lamkin treated students, faculty, and staff to numerous performances on the Kora, a stringed, harp-like instrument that originated in West Africa. In between poems accompanied by the instrument, he explained its origin, how it is played, and its traditional use in African culture of oral storytelling. At various points in the performance the audience was asked to sing and even dance along. Mr. Lamkin ended his time with a question-and-answer session.  

 

In the afternoon, Mr. Lamkin visited with Dr. Caroline Miller’s English class to discuss the poet’s process. He explained the art of storytelling by playing a game of telephone. He whispered into a student’s ear, “red basket, blue azaleas,” but by the time it got to the last person in the room, the phrase had morphed into, “red vest, blue saline.” After a good laugh, Mr. Lamkin told students that sometimes details get lost in storying telling from generation to generation since the stories are passed on orally.

 

Mr. Lamkin returned to Sewickley Academy on Tuesday, February 14, to perform for the Lower School. Mrs. Burton introduced her longtime friend, and Mr. Lamkin shared the story of how Mrs. Burton was the first person to give him a Kora. He said traditionally, it is the father’s place to present the Kora to his children once he believes they are well-versed in telling the family’s story. However, he was extremely grateful for his first Kora that Mrs. Burton gave him in West Africa when he was in his mid-30s. An aspiring guitarist, Mr. Lamkin told the captive audience that he hurt his finger so badly that he was no longer able to play the guitar and thus turned to the Kora. He sang songs, recited poetry, and played music for the students, and even allowed one student to play the Kora herself. He concluded his talk by teaching everyone how to properly “shake their hinny” as a reminder to not let the stress of life get you down.