Even just talking to Carnegie Mellon sophomore Jason Jennings-Wright and junior Ife Kehinde for a short while, one can tell that they both truly have music and poetry in their souls. Jason, a psychology major and drama minor, and Ife, a psychology and biology double major with a concentration in neuroscience, are performing an original song together in the Phenomenal Women Celebration of Women’s History Month, an event that aims to celebrate and uplift women through the eloquence of art, including poetry, dance, and music.
Started by sophomore dramaturgy major Alesia Etinoff, the Celebration aims to inspire women and young girls to be empowered while also holding onto their femininity: “To be empowered with strength and independence, women don’t have to ignore the parts of themselves that are loving and nurturing,” Ife said. “You can be empowered no matter how you’re packaged.”
Jason went on to say that through music and performance, this event will give young girls a chance to “express these fundamental qualities in front of others”. Alesia is very big on female empowerment, and does a lot of work with Strong Women Strong Girls,” Jason said. “One thing she noticed was that a lot of [the girls she works with in the program] are inspired by a lot of artists they see on TV.” These girls may have the desire to express themselves and perform on stage, and Ife says that in this event they have the support to do that, and to know that they can “go on to bigger and better things … [Having a passion] without getting encouragement and support from others is like trying to hold a cloud in your hand; there’s no root in it.”
The first half of the Celebration runs from 6 to 7:15p.m. and is called The Chronicles of Girlhood Youth Showcase. It will feature performers 17 years old and younger “That first half will probably be the most powerful part of the event,” Jason said. Ife added that this event is a way for these girls to “harness their God-given talents; it is a beautiful thing to see a child blossom before your eyes.”
However, both Jason and Ife explain that the event doesn’t promote just any type of music: it promotes music that is honest, that truly speaks to people. As opposed to pop songs by artists like Ke$ha or Katy Perry, Jason explains that there are “artists that inspire you and make you want to do the same thing … You need your good party songs, but they have their place. We need more honest musicians—when you are honest, you will connect with someone.” Ife offers examples of artists who are honest and inspire her like Lauryn Hill, who sings music that “flies into your soul,” and Adele, who seems to have “revive[d] the music industry almost single-handedly.” It’s the success of people like these artists who give her hope that “the masses enjoy good music.”
The second half of the show is the Stages of Womanhood Open Mic, which runs from 7:30 to 9p.m. and features performers ages18 years and older. One benefit of this part of the program is that older students can inspire younger girls and give them the hope that they can express themselves creatively through performance. “I remember being 10 and writing poetry, thinking I could never get on stage and perform it,” Ife said. “It’s inspiring [for the younger girls] to know that other people came from [their] current situation.” It’s also good for the girls to know: “your love for this is not in vain—you don’t have to be the next Whitney Houston, but you can still be creative and inspire others.”
Jason and Ife’s piece will be a song they co-wrote and will be accompanied by dancers. Jason explained, “When Alesia asked me to perform, I automatically thought I wanted to do a duet with Ife. She can do some amazing things—we sat down at the piano and had the melody worked out in about two minutes … I sent her the poem and she was able to take it to songwriting.” Ife explains that the piece “is meant to be experienced in a mature sense … it’s how we wanted to portray female empowerment. It’s about men and women and how their roles have changed. Women are often portrayed as weak for being able to love and be caring … And men’s accomplishments mean a lot, but their accomplishments are supported by the love and support of women. There are roles in relationships where one person will do one thing, and the other person will do the other—but the roles should balance out.”
The Phenomenal Women Celebration is meant to unify all ages of men and women, and to bring people together through art: “I just hope [people] come and get to experience this aspect of human nature where people can express themselves,” Ife said. “I hope it’ll be inspiring, a remarkable event that will be remembered for a while.” – Jason added, “It’s an event for the community—all the campuses know about [it]. It’s free, and there will be free food. We want the community to come out and just live.”
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The Phenomenal Women Celebration of Women’s History Month is on Thursday, March 29 from 6 to 9:30p.m. at the August Wilson Center of African American Culture, and has free admission, free food, and is open to all. The Facebook event can be viewed at: http://www.facebook.com/events/200811350023500/