Norwood News

The youth in the northwest Bronx have created their own forum for speaking out about issues they care about. This month it was the redevelopment of the Kingsbridge Armory.

Sistas and Brothas United (SBU), an arm of the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition (NWBCCC), and Choose to Change, a committee dedicated to curbing youth violence, got together earlier this month at St. James Park to host an open-mic event to voice their opinions about the coming transformation of the 575,000,000-square-foot Armory, which is slated to be turned into a giant shopping mall.

“They’re going to turn it into a mall, and we don’t really have a problem with that, but we want those working inside the Armory to be paid living wages,” said Dockeem Barnes, a music artist who has worked as a youth leader for SBU, which is also a member of the Kingsbridge Armory Redevelopment Alliance (KARA). KARA has lobbied for living wages at the Armory for the last two years.

Barnes said the open-mic events are designed to raise awareness and get the community involved in issues that might affect people living in the area. Groups like Youth on the Move, and the NWBCC, have been participants in the past, he said, and each event has a politically or culturally significant theme to focus on while performers do anything from speak poetry and rap, to build models and put on plays.

Barnes said bringing people together through spoken word can be a powerful force. Some 250 people showed up to this month’s event.

He and others hope to get funding to host events regularly around the area, using larger spaces like the Monte Carlo Room, a popular Bronx club and venue.

“The more open mics we have, the more meetings we have, and the more we’re out there with the media, the more we stay out there,” Barnes said.