The Sussexes Join Get Lit to Mark Black History Month

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex made a surprise appearance to mark Black History Month. The couple joined a Get Lit poetry class to discuss their interest in the art form. The Duchess even shared a few of her favourite lines. On their Instagram page Get Lit described Harry and Meghan as "magic and kind", adding, "We are so grateful for their visit in honor of Black History Month. It goes down as most epic experience in Get Lit history."

People reports:

'In a video shared on Get Lit's Instagram story, one student asked Meghan and Harry why they were interested in the organization and poetry in general.

"It was recommended to us," Harry answered.

"We really just wanted to see you guys, meet you guys and see how this was working through Zoom," Harry said.

Meghan added, "It's so interesting as we watch our world go through this alchemy process, right. Everything is being churned and turned, and hopefully what comes out is something solid."

Tutor Mason Granger shared more on the discussion:

"Soooo Prince Harry and Meghan dropped into my poetry class on Saturday and kicked it with the Get Lit Players for a multitude of minutes. My favorite part of it all was Meghan echoing so many sentiments we’ve talked about in class, about this particular moment in time/history to be a young person and the ripple effect of a single voice. The root of them deciding to come is because at some point in their lives, they were moved by a poem. And whoever wrote that poem at some point thought to themselves, “Does this even matter? Is anyone even listening?” And they shared it anyway. Fast forward ripple ripple ripple and these kids get a surprise 45 minute chat with the Prince Harry and Meghan. 

It was pretty surreal. My kids shared poems, they asked questions, the kids answered and asked questions back, they responded authentically (they actually read and learned the kids bios I’d sent earlier). The org and all the kids are posting today with more details about the visit— I just want to say that the Get Lit Players are brilliant and 10/10 would recommend The Duke and Duchess of Sussex for your next Zoom poetry practice."

Sheila J added:

'Thanks to poetry, I get to witness some pretty neat things. I get to see what my life looks like when I give it to my art & it offers me so much opportunity for growth, inside & out.

I get to see a poet from LA perform an outstanding piece at the inauguration, capturing the attention of millions & focusing it onto this art.

Thanks to poetry, I get to witness the waves of that moment ripple out into the most wild places. Like the hearts of some pretty well-known wonderful, kind, & generous people. I get to see my students’ mouths agape as they see where poetry can take you, who it can bring in.

I think about all the times I questioned if I could make a life out of poetry; somedays, I hate to admit, I would pray I didn’t love poetry as much as I did. A career in poetry is hard gig but it literally changes the world. Everywhere I look, poetry has touched a mind, a heart, a community.

On Saturday, I saw this in the way Meghan & Prince Harry (I’m sorry I’m not sure the proper way to address these lovely people) talked to my students—how they had learned their names, where they were from. How they engaged with their writing & their voices. How they validated their art, how they express themselves. The impact is enormous.'

Get Lit exists because 1 in 4 children grow up illiterate. The organisation notes, "We have a literacy crisis in our backyard." It was founded in 2006 after Diane Luby Lane created a one-woman show about the power of books and toured high schools, college and jails with poet Jimmy Santiago Baca. Once the tour ended she began teaching poetry in high schools. This has grown significantly. 97% of teachers see a marked increase in engagement from students involved with Get Lit. 98% of players go to college and 70% get scholarships.

In support of Black Lives Matter, Get Lit’s 2020-2021 anthology of suggested poems features all Black authors and poets. The aim is to "inspire new perspectives, spread understanding, celebrate great art, and highlight the multitudes of injustice".

More from Huff Post:

'Diane Luby Lane, founder and executive director of Get Lit, said the royals’ team reached out to the organization to get involved. Lane described their surprise appearance as “honestly the most shocking and thrilling moment of our lives.” 

“Our Poets’ mouths hit the floor,” she wrote in an email to HuffPost. “After they left, one of the poets started crying and said ‘I need someone to explain what just happened right now.’”

Eric Garcetti, Mayor of Los Angeles, praised Get Lit:

Elle reports:

'Meghan and Harry's Get Lit appearance comes one day after National Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman gave the first-ever poetry reciting during the Super Bowl. Ahead of her big game performance, Gorman spoke to former First Lady Michelle Obama for Time about her experience with imposter syndrome

"Speaking in public as a Black girl is already daunting enough, just coming onstage with my dark skin and my hair and my race—that in itself is inviting a type of people that have not often been welcomed or celebrated in the public sphere," she said. "Beyond that, as someone with a speech impediment, that impostor syndrome has always been exacerbated because there’s the concern, Is the content of what I’m saying good enough? And then the additional fear, Is the way I’m saying it good enough?"

Gorman also reflected on the power of poetry, following her viral inauguration poem reading. "Poetry and language are often at the heartbeat of movements for change," Gorman told Obama.'

The amazingly talented Amanda Gorman's stirring poem "The Hill We Climb", performed at President Biden's inauguration, was heard all over the world.

I've been working on a feature piece about Prince Harry's honorary military titles. It should be live in an hour or so.