Samuel Martin, an 18-year-old poet at WCC. Lilly Kujawski | Washtenaw Voice
Lilly Kujawski
Editor
Poet and spoken-word artist Samuel Martin goes against the grain. At 18, the WCC business and marketing student already has a sound sense of who he is, as well as a pocketful of dreams—dreams he is making real for himself.
Making history
On Feb. 5, Martin was the featured performer at the Black History Month poetry reading entitled “I’m Making History.”
The event was part of an ongoing series of Black History Month events at the Ann Arbor District Library during the month of February. For this event, the library partnered with the Neutral Zone, a non-profit teen center located in downtown Ann Arbor, where Martin serves as a literary arts intern. Six teen poets from the Neutral Zone also each shared a poem at the event.
When Martin took to the stage, he owned the room. He moved throughout the space and interacted with the audience. His performance was personable, conversational and charismatic.
He was unapologetic about his experiences as a young black man, a student, a son and someone still learning all the facets of their identities.
“See, it can’t be just us in the fight for justice,” Martin said in a poem. “I believe my freedom is worth fighting for, do you?”
Staying power
Martin uses his poetry as a platform for social justice, which is amplified by his internship at the Neutral Zone.
After going through the literary arts programs there himself as a high schooler—including being a member of the third place-winning team at Louder Than A Bomb, a youth poetry slam and festival—Martin has returned as a mentor in hopes to help teens find their own voices.
His newfound leadership role has given him the opportunity to organize and engage in activist work that reaches all the way to the west coast. His main project at the Neutral Zone is something called “Staying Power”, a coalition that began in Richmond, Calif., and has since expanded to Ypsilanti.
The project, which is funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, will serve as an exchange between Richmond and Ypsilanti, both historically black, family-oriented communities affected by gentrification.
“This program is all about talking about gentrification and how to help youth talk about their problems with homelessness and give them the voice to really advocate about what’s going on,” said Martin.
“These problems don’t just disappear overnight,” Martin added. “And they’re not just going to be silenced, either.”
Martin spoke with pride and passion about the project.
The idea is for eight teens from Ypsilanti and eight teens from Richmond to unite and use art to celebrate and preserve their cultures and push for affordable housing. The Ypsilanti teens will visit Richmond, where the entire group will participate in a four-day retreat, working under Donte Clark, former Richmond poet laureate. After the retreat, the teens will continue their collaboration with poetry workshops via Skype.
The revolution isn’t over
For Martin, the one thing school, particularly high school, really taught him was his identity.
“Being a black man in America, or in today’s time is not a choice, not an option, it’s not a trend I can follow,” Martin said. “Being a black man in society means that I have to realize who I am, where I come from, how I represent myself. ‘Cause I’m not just representing myself.”
“Everybody has a story, everybody has a voice,” he said.
“It’s realizing our differences, but also the genius in our differences,” Martin said. “And that’s what we don’t appreciate in today’s time.”
“People believe that the revolution stopped when Martin Luther King was shot, but there’s issues we’re still trying to address right now,” he said. “The world we live in, we can’t always follow the rules because the rules are not always the right way.”
“You can only speak your truth, that’s the best you can do.”
Let me paint you this picture
When Martin was in high school, he gave two speeches for TEDxYouth@AnnArbor; one called “Let Me Paint You This Picture” and the other “The Underestimated Power of Words.” The talks deal with racism and the impact of the words and language we choose to use, respectively.
Even as a teenager, Martin was an authentic performer who owned the stage and captivated the audience.
Sean Copeland, the curator of the Black History Month program at AADL, noticed those traits in Martin.
Copeland first met Martin last summer at a live painting event at the library. Martin happened to come into the library that day, and he was instantly pulled to the painting being created.
“He really connected with the painting, and the program, and so Marlo Broughton, who was the artist, he just whispered me and said ‘I think I’m just going to give [the painting] to him,” said Copeland.
Copeland spoke with Martin and learned of his poetry background. The two exchanged contact information. That day Martin went home with his newly gifted painting.
Later on, Copeland ended up watching Martin’s TEDx talks on Youtube. He was so impressed that he reached out to Martin and asked him to perform at the Black History Month poetry reading.
“I saw something special in him,” Copeland said of Martin.
What’s next
Martin is motivated to continue growing through his poetry. He believes the best way to become a better writer is by experiencing more and reading more.
This May, Martin leaves for the United Kingdom for a month and a half where he will study anthropology through the WCC study abroad program.
After he finishes his associate’s degree at WCC, Martin said he plans to attend Howard University. For Martin, this is merely a stepping off point.
“I’m still in my beginning stage,” he said. “I have a lot more to contribute to society.”
