GET LIT POET - SIERRA LEONE ANDERSON - CRAFTS AN ORIGINAL POEM TITLED "FOR UVALDE" - REFLECTING ON THE EVENTS THAT TOOK PLACE AT ROBB ELEMENTARY SCHOOL IN UVALDE TEXAS - AS CHILDREN ACROSS THE U.S. HEAD BACK TO CLASSROOMS FOR THE START OF THE NEW SCHOOL YEAR

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 24, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- As kids throughout the United States head back to school, the thought of what happened to the 19 students and two teachers on May 27th, 2022 in Uvalde, Texas, just before summer break, may be top of mind.15-year-old high school student, and Get Lit poet, Sierra Leone Anderson, is aware that this fear isn't an uncommon one these days. She has learned to manage some of her anxiety through the use of poetry, taught to her by Los Angeles non-profit, Get Lit - Words Ignite. To address her thoughts on what happened at Robb Elementary School, Sierra Leone Anderson wrote and performed an original poem that she titled "FOR UVALDE" as a way to share what she and many other children are feeling. 

"I hated what happened in Uvalde. I hated how a mass massacre could be casually whittled down to "what happened." I hated how adults were reacting and not reacting to it. I hated how my peers at school responded. Maybe in part because I didn't know how to respond myself," said Get Lit poet, Sierra Leone Anderson. "I am a young person and am witnessing the country I'll inherit eat itself alive. I wrote this poem in an effort to speak back to my anger and disappointment. I wrote it for other youth that feel the same." 

Get Lit - Words Ignite is a Los Angeles-based education nonprofit founded in 2006 by author and educator Diane Luby Lane, to increase literacy, empower youth, and energize communities through poetry and visual media. The organization aims to transform the lives of young people worldwide through classic and spoken word poetry. Through the use of specialized curriculums, the program engages young people by providing a creative outlet, community, and real-life work experience, transforming students into activists, scholars, and stars. 

The only program of its kind in the nation, Get Lit has created a unique call-and-response model where students identify classic poems that resonate with their own stories, and write original responses, inspiring students to discover, develop, and amplify their voices while learning and exploring classic poetry from the past and present.  At Get Lit, "a classic isn't a classic because it's old, a classic is a classic because it's great." This fall, Get Lit will officially launch Uni(verse) classroom, which is the world's first online poetry platform providing standards-aligned English and Ethic Studies instruction for K-12 students. Get Lit's Uni(verse) will connect students in classrooms all over the world.

"Unfortunately, in America, gun violence is all too common, and our young people are very aware of this. In 2020, gun violence overtook car accidents to become the number one cause of death amongst kids in the U.S., and 95 percent of American K-12 schools practice active shooter drills in their classrooms," said Get Lit Founder, Diane Luby Lane. "While this can lead to fear among students, writing thoughts, and other feelings down can help calm anxieties. In addition, performing those words for others can help validate that we are not alone." 

"FOR UVALDE" was written and performed by Sierra Leone Anderson.  The film was directed by Zion Estrada, edited by Leila Jarman and Gabe Sandoval served as the director of photography. The cast consisted of Anderson's real life friends Sam Lue, Olivia Smith and Leila Adams-Taylor, because as Anderson noted, "fear is visceral on its own, but the particular chill of feeling unsafe in your own space is especially intimate. I casted my friends Sam, Olivia, and Leila because they know that feeling. I wanted everything about this film to be youth-centered and real."   Get Lit - Words Ignite, executive produced this project using funds they received from the NBA Foundation to support black youth and workforce development. 

We at Get Lit hope you will listen to this original poem by Sierra Leone Anderson and then share it with your family, friends, children and acquaintances. If you or your child is feeling anxious about going back to school, encourage them to write down their feelings and discuss them, and know, they are not alone. 

Get Lit - Words Ignite is a Los Angeles-based education nonprofit founded in 2006 by author and educator Diane Luby Lane, to increase literacy, empower youth, and energize communities through poetry and visual media.  The organization aims to transform the lives of young people worldwide through classic and spoken word poetry. Through the use of specialized curriculums, the program engages young people by providing a creative outlet, community, and real-life work experience, transforming students into activists, scholars, and stars.

The only program of its kind in the nation, Get Lit has created a unique call-and-response model where students identify classic poems that resonate with their own stories, and write original responses, inspiring students to discover, develop, and amplify their voices while learning and exploring classic poetry from the past and present.  At Get Lit, "a classic isn't a classic because it's old, a classic is a classic because it's great." 

Get Lit annually reaches 50,000 youth age 9 through young adulthood through its In-School and After-School programs. Instruction culminates in the three-day Classic Slam, the largest classic youth poetry competition in the country. Get Lit is also home to the Get Lit Players (GLPs), an award-winning youth poetry troupe who have collaborated with the United Nations, John Legend, the White House, and more, inspiring their peers to read, write, uplift their communities, and participate in the arts.

85% of Get Lit's students are from under-resourced areas; 92% are students of color. Get Lit reaches students, whether they are in the front row, in the back of the classroom, or online. Graduating students have gone on to successes including positions as Youth Poet Laureates of the U.S., staff writers on top television shows, United Nations Youth Ambassadors, Grammy-winning artists, and Fulbright Scholars.  Get Lit was chosen as a 2020 Library of Congress Literacy Awards Best Practice Honoree, one of only 15 in the world. 

This fall, Get Lit will officially launch Uni(verse), the world's first interactive poetry platform for the classroom, community, and beyond. Get Lit's Uni(verse) will enable students throughout the US and internationally, to take Get Lit's standards-aligned English and Ethic Studies courses online and to exchange ideas both within and outside of school. It will feature Get Lit's interactive poetry Anthology, searchable by poet, theme, literary device, etc. Uni(verse) will build and strengthen communication, collaboration, empathy, and community throughout the world through the vehicle of poetry.

For more information on Get Lit - Words Ignite, please visit: https://www.getlit.org.

SOURCE Get Lit