Malcolm London
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Malcolm London is an American poet, educator, "artivist" and musician.[1][2]
Biography
London was born in 1993 and grew up in the west side of Chicago in a neighborhood called Austin.[3][4] He first started writing poems when he was 12 and poetry quickly became an important part of London's life.[4] He attended Lincoln Park High School and in his sophomore year he won individual honors at the Louder Than A Bomb youth poetry competition.[5][4] When he was 20, he participated in a TED talk where he read a portion of his poem, "High School Training Grounds".[3][6]
After graduating from high school in 2011, London began working for Kevin Coval, a fellow poet and educator who helped create the Louder Than A Bomb poetry festival. London was paid to help with the organization Young Chicago Authors, talking at local schools and running poetry workshops with students in the area.[4]
In 2012, London worked with actor Matt Damon as part of an event called "The People Speak Live!".[4] He would also appear on a television series called "Verses & Flow" which features performances of music and poetry. He read a poem entitled, "The First Time in a While" which was based on a peer of London's who had been killed in a fight. In reading his poem, London became he youngest poet to appear in the first three seasons of the show.[4]
In time, London would go on to appear on several TED Talks with John Legend and Bill Gates, and host events and performances with friend and fellow YCA alum Chance the Rapper[1] and rapper Lupe Fiasco.[2] His performances of poetry have taken place all across Chicago including at the Chicago Jazz Festival, the Du Sable Museum, the Vic Theater, The Metro, The Chicago Theater, Victory Gardens Theatre, and Steppenwolf Theater, where was a member of the Young Adult Council.[6] London has also been the co-chair of the Chicago chapter of the Black Youth Project[7] and has done a lot of service for Chicago Public schools and the city's community.[1] Malcolm is known for using his art to inspire activism. He was a member of UCAN's National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention and has championed a variety of issues through his poetry and talks.[6]
Malcolm London has written many poems, some of his most famous being "High School Training Ground,” "Never Too Late,” “Rome Wasn’t Built In A Day (Love Sosa),” and “Why You Talk Like That.”[8] He also has a range of music that appears on SoundCloud.[9]
Police encounters
In 2015, #FreeMalcolmLondon was trending for most of the day Wednesday as protesters rallied to his defense. Four others were arrested during the protests, which came after the arrest of Officer Jason Van Dyke and the release of a dash cam video showing the officer shooting the 17-year-old McDonald 16 times in October 2014, but London faced the most serious charges. London was one of the leaders of the Black Youth Project 100, and helped organize the protests.[10] Malcolm suffered a broken finger and filed a lawsuit with the Westside Justice Center.
References
- ^ a b c Kogan, Rick. "Malcolm London is a Chicago poet with places to go and a person to be". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2018-12-12.
- ^ a b "About". Malcolm London. Retrieved 2018-12-12.
- ^ a b "Interview with Malcolm London". WNUR. 2017-06-29. Retrieved 2019-05-07.
- ^ a b c d e f Sidewalks, Rick Kogan's. "Teen poet thirsts for knowledge". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2019-05-07.
- ^ "Malcolm London on Activism and Using Art to Create Change • EBONY". EBONY. 2016-11-04. Retrieved 2018-12-12.
- ^ a b c "Poet Malcolm London Performs on TED Talks Education | PBS". TED Talks Education. Retrieved 2019-05-07.
- ^ "Poet Malcolm London Performs on TED Talks Education | PBS". TED Talks Education. Retrieved 2018-12-12.
- ^ "The Poetry Of Malcolm London". www.wbur.org. Retrieved 2019-05-07.
- ^ "Music". Malcolm London. Retrieved 2019-05-07.
- ^ "Chicago Police Release Activist Malcolm London". WBEZ Chicago. 2020-06-03. Retrieved 2022-04-21.