Press Releases & Articles

2023

Youth Speaks, in partnership with California Arts Council, awards $740,000 to Northern California Artists through the Individual Artist Fellowship
Youth Speaks Named Awardee of California Arts Council Individual Artists Grant as State arts agency adds another $2.8 million to its historic

2022

Influential Community-Powered Festival Life is Living Returns with In-Person Celebration in Historic Lil Bobby Hutton Park after 2-year Virtual Chrysalis
Leading Bay Area Arts Organizations Mark a Return to the Mission District and Plant Roots in a Historic Forever Home Through a Groundbreaking City Development

2021

Acclaimed Bay Area Arts Organization is a Step Closer to Realizing its Vision with Announcement of Spoken Word Leader as New Executive Director

2017

Project 1324 | 5 Poets You Need to Follow Right Now
On MLK Day, Youth Speaks Poets Raise a Voice Against Injustice
The 20th Annual Bringing The Noise For Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

2016

POST NEWS GROUP | Azariah Cole-Shephard, 2016 Youth Poet Laureate, Captures the Spotlight
USA TODAY | Celeb superlatives: Busiest post-Tony win schedule: Hamilton’s Daveed Diggs
WC EXAMINER | Local underdogs ‘Break Ground’
ATLANTA DAILY WORLD | Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs presents ELEVATE: Summer Edition
HUFFINGTON POST | Why Poetry Is The Best Medium For Kids Who Want To Change The World
WASHINGTON POST | ‘Hamilton’ star Daveed Diggs: Slam poetry saved my life
CLICK ON DETROIT | Students from Detroit attend poetry competition in Washington D.C.
COLUMBIAN TRIBUNE | Muslim Girls Making Change
USA TODAY | ‘Hamilton’s Daveed Diggs, Jacob Tremblay team up
WASHINGTON POST | In tumultuous world, poetry and spoken words help youth find their voice
WJLA | GGMW previews the Brave New Voices International Youth Poetry Slam Festival
BOSTON GLOBE | Muslim teens spread messages of change through poetry
Life Is Living Festival: Honoring The Legacy Of The Black Panthers
Brilliant Young Minds Speak Up at the 19 th Annual Brave New Voices International Youth Poetry Slam in Washington D.C.
WASHINGTON TIMES | DC Youth Slam Team betting on thoughts and struggles to win competition
RECORD NET | With Our Words slam poetry team headed to DC
GREENSBORO| Poetry team used words for personal expression
Youth Speaks and Oakland Public Library To Announce 2016 Oakland Youth Poet Laureate at Final Event
COMMUNITY ADVOCATE | Westborough student turns love of rap into pure poetry
WASHINGTONIAN | Things to Do in DC This Week June 27-29: Singalongs, Biocubes, and Outdoor Trivia
Brilliant Young Minds Speak Up at the 19 th Annual Brave New Voices International Youth Poetry Slam in Washington D.C.
2016 Oakland Youth Poet Laureate Finalists Announced
KQED ARTS | Chinaka Hodge Shines a Piercing Light on Life in Hip-Hop with ‘Dated Emcees’
SF CHRONICLE | Features Youth Speaks At 20
KALW | Youth Speaks at 20: Still Bringing The Noise
SF GATE | Poetry Slam: 20 Years of Youth Finding Their Voice
METRO | Dahlak Brathwaite Embraces The Poetry of Life’s Hard Knocks (Alumnus)
ROLLING STONE | Q-Tip Named Kennedy Center’s Artistic Director for Hip-Hop Culture (Brave New Voices)
KQED | Screening of New Doc Shows Panther Power Still Alive in Oakland
THE MUSE | Meet Hollis Wong-Wear & Jamila Woods, the Women of Color Behind Macklemore’s ‘White Privilege II’ (Alumna)
KQED | Theater Junkie: Youth Speaks Makes Some Noise for Martin Luther King Jr.

2015

The 19th Annual Bringing The Noise for Dr. Martin Luther King – A night of Poetry and Performance
OAKULTURE | Life, Death, and Rhythm: Cultural Resiliency and Anti-Displacement Efforts Gaining Momentum in Oakland
MIC | How a Slain Black Panther Inspired America’s Best Under-the-Radar Music Festivals
EAST BAY EXPRESS | The Life Is Living Festival Dances into deFremery
The 8th Annual Life is Living Festival
Youth Speaks Selected as a Grantee of Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Arts Innovation and Management Program
EMORY WHEEL | Youth Poets’ ‘Brave New Voices’ Roar in International Festival
KALW | The quest to be Oakland’s next Youth Poet Laureate
EMORY | Brave New Voices – Literary Archives at Emory
EMORY | Brave New Voices – Young poets tear open festival with crackling energy, raw emotion
EMORY | Get ready to hear these ‘Brave New Voices’
Notes From The Field Press Packet
EMORY | Jamie Weems w/ Hodari Davis: Helping young poets find their ‘Brave New Voices’
WDET | Broken City Poets: WDET’s Sandra Svoboda meets with Niema Jordan
OKAY AFRICA | 19-Year-Old South African Slam Poet Lee Mokobe Delivers A Powerful Poem On Being Transgender
18th Annual Brave New Voices Festival
OAKULTURE | MC Olympics Showcases The Next Generation of Hip-Hop Performers
Youth Speaks Announces New Artistic Director Sean San José & Emerging Artists Program
EAST BAY EXPRESS | Slam Poetry Makes a Bold, Loud Comeback
Youth Speaks Teen Poetry Slam
Youth Speaks Announces: Leadership Cohort

2014

Youth Speaks Announces: American Graduate Raise Up Winners
17th Annual Brave New Voices Festival
The Brave New Voices Network Initiative