The Miami Dolphins Foundation, Nova Southeastern University, Knight Foundation
help unite South Florida youth with their support of the Louder Than A Bomb Florida
spoken word poetry festival created by the Omari Hardwick bluapple Poetry Network,
a program of the Jason Taylor Foundation
This past school year, the Jason Taylor Foundation, through its Omari Hardwick bluapple Poetry Network, introduced Louder Than A Bomb Florida presented by Nova Southeastern University and the Miami Dolphins Foundation – a transformational new program empowering and uniting South Florida’s youth and community through the art of the spoken word. The program was also supported by The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, as part of its Knight Arts Challenge.
Beginning in September of 2014, teachers and students from schools as far south as Homestead and as far north as Port St. Lucie, often times with the assistance of a bluapple Teaching Artist, began working, learning, creating and sharing within their classrooms, in after-school clubs and through various teen open mics throughout South Florida, developing safe spaces for individual and collective expression on their respective campuses and in their communities.
The culmination of this work manifested in an 11-day festival last April, which was highlighted by a friendly competition taking place in dynamic venues throughout Broward County. A diverse group of students, parents, administrators and community members representing nearly 40 schools participated in LTABFLA, creating authentic narratives to reimagine the self and one another while developing mutual respect and tolerance for difference.
To see the full impact of what this groundbreaking program had on South Florida in just its first year,
PLEASE CLICK HERE
The bluapple Poetry Network is gearing up for the 2015-16 Louder Than A Bomb Florida with full expectation of being markedly bigger and better. The second-year festival will run from April 5-16, 2016 and again will feature a wide array of schools from South Florida and beyond, with unique exposure to some of the finest facilities in Broward County. For more information about Louder Than A Bomb Florida or about the Omari Hardwick bluapple Poetry Network, please CLICK HERE!
