NEW DATE: The Thicker Than Water Open Mic

Aniyah Smith, 2018 DC Youth Poet Laureate

Newark, New Jersey bears the most lead poisoning in the state, among the greatest amounts recently recorded by any large water system in America. Legal battles involving authorities as high as the Environmental Protection Agency continue to deprive this largely Black population of clean water in their homes or schools.

“The Thicker Than Water Open Mic” will serve as a free poetry slam that simultaneously provides clean water to people in Newark. Black student poets from Princeton University’s premier group Ellipses, including Aniyah Smith, the youth poet laureate of Washington, D.C., will perform alongside the Newark Youth Poetry Team, which recently placed second at the Brave New Voices International Poetry Festival. Every attendee will receive a 24-pack of bottled water. To surpass this temporary solution, a 50/50 raffle will benefit the Lady H2O campaign, a Newark-based grassroots venture to supply bottled water to families on a more consistent basis.

Support will come from community partners in Newark, like The Meal Plan Collective and Source of Knowledge Bookstore. Newark residents will gain an opportunity to hear voices from their city, particularly other Black intellects, while expressing their own experiences.