To promote a kind of civil courage and social change, the daughter of Yoruba parents is giving Black culture a stage in the German capital with her Poetry Meets event series.
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00:00From spoken poetry to jazz, hip-hop or soul, African traditions have impacted modern pop
00:08culture. How has the event series Poetry Meets helped black culture take center stage in
00:14the capital of Germany?
00:29Jumoke Adeyanju was raised in Germany by Yoruba parents and she's the host and founder of
00:35this series of events where she gets people to read poetry out loud. Let's find out why
00:41it's so important to Jumoke to bring black culture to the fore.
00:46Poetry Meets or the Poetry Meets series is a series of events that brings together different
00:50forms of art. But the spotlight is on poetry. It's the core. Just an hour until things get
00:57started. Jumoke and her team are coordinating the final details. Around 10 artists will
01:02take the stage today. Local and international performers will present their poetry, music
01:08and dancing skills for a sold-out auditorium. Jumoke founded the series of events in 2014.
01:15It all got started with hip-hop in small rooms. That gave Jumoke the idea to found a platform
01:21for black artists. She was just 22 years old at the time.
01:27Poetry Meets hip-hop originated from an open jam session that went on until four in the
01:32morning. Then I said, I'd really like to curate this. Berlin-based Jumoke is a multi-talented
01:41artist. She's a dancer and performer who writes and recites her poems in German, English,
01:47Kiswahili and Yoruba. She's a DJ and hosts her own radio show. But why did Jumoke, who
01:54holds a master's degree in African politics, opt to organize events focused on black culture?
02:04It's my ambition for art and music to alter one's consciousness in a certain way. This
02:10consciousness can help to advance your courage, to stand up for one's convictions and for
02:16societal change.
02:23With Poetry Meets, Jumoke stands up for people of color in Germany. Why is that so important?
02:31Unfortunately the image of German society is such that it rarely shows people like me
02:36in this form. There is some movement in that direction, and a lot has changed. But I see
02:43it as a matter of somehow normalizing black people and people of color in every area of
02:48life.
02:58As every evening when Poetry Meets takes place, the venue quickly fills up.
03:04I really love the first one. First of all, it's really nice to see a lot of black people
03:07in the same space. There was a lot of talent there. There were seen more established artists
03:11as well as some up-and-coming ones.
03:13I think they strike a chord with the zeitgeist.
03:17I always like to come here, just because it's a beautiful place. Poetry, art, community,
03:22all rolled up in one. I always get a lot out of it.
03:26The show begins. One of today's featured artists is Muso, a poet from Zambia.
03:34Tears soaked in many unanswered whys, aching for a touch, loving embrace.
03:45Also on the bill is Sonic Interventions. The band performs in various languages, rhythms
03:51and dance.
03:52The show's surprise guest today is poet-artist Sir Black from Ghana.
04:05And the featured main act is Keziah, an artist living in both Berlin and Dakar. She blends
04:11elements of soul and Afro-pop in her stage performances.
04:16The point of the event is simply to be able to see and experience people who you wouldn't
04:23normally see and experience, and who wouldn't normally even be given the space.
04:31Jamokia Adenayu's series of poetry meets, has struck a nerve and become an integral
04:36part of Berlin's cultural life.