Black Artistic Freedom Conference: The W.E.B. DuBois Poetry Slam Invitational

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This event is in partnership with the UMass Amherst W.E.B. DuBois Center where both students and guest poets are invited to competitively showcase spoken word poetry in honor of Black History Month, the life and legacy of W.E.B. DuBois as well as the celebration of his birthday, which is February 23rd, 1868.

1st Place: $1,000

2nd Place: $500

3rd Place: $250

Hosted by Roscoe Burnems:

Two names. Many talents. One amazing experience! Richmond Virginia native, Douglas Powell, artistically known as, Roscoe Burnems is a spoken-word artist, poetry slam champion, comedian, published author, educator, father, and Richmond, VA's inaugural poet laureate. He has dedicated his craft to entertaining and educating. Roscoe uses his platform to be transparent and transformative. Using vulnerability as a superpower, he weaves through storytelling and metaphor seamlessy guiding audiences through a range of emotions, but always ending with empowerment, love, and resilience. Douglas' mission as an artist has been to normalize conversations around mental health and its taboo nature in communities of color and men, while also discussing the effects of race, relationships, education, and access in trauma and depression, using his own journey as an example. His work, a mix of humor and thought-provoking poetry, is often described as refreshing and disarming. You can them find him covering these topics and more on Amazon Prime and other platforms in his film "Traumedy", the first ever poetry and comedy special. 

Refreshments will be served. The event is free and open to all who RSVP: bit.ly/BLACKAF2025RSVP 

Contact Imani Wallace at iwallace [at] umass [dot] edu (iwallace[at]umass[dot]edu) with questions!