Somewhere In America/ Rhiannon McGavin, Zariya Allen, and Belissa Escobedo/ 2014
“Somewhere In America” is a poem written by three young women: Rhiannon McGavin, Zariya Allen, and Belissa Escobedo. These three girls were a part of the Get LIT poetry program and placed 3rd in the Brave New Voices competition in 2014. The Get LIT organization is a non-profit dedicated to improving literacy rates in Los Angeles where 40% of high school students will not graduate. The poem addresses everything wrong with America from a high school students point of view. The girls tackle topics like sexual assault, gun violence, banned books, racism, income inequality, fat shaming, and suppression of America’s history. This poem was so powerful because it spoke out about corruption in the educational system by those who are affected.
“Somewhere in America” is an influential poem because it tackled the weighty injustices we are taught to ignore. This poem is influential because it addresses the holes in American history and rape culture. The poem begins with a powerful line, “the greatest lessons that you will teach us will not come from your syllabus, the greatest lessons you will teach us you will not even remember (Allen, Escobedo, McGavin)”. The girls concentrate on the idea that the government would like to control what you say and how you think. The government achieves this by leaving things out of the history books.
They built us brand new shopping malls
so that we’ll forget where we are really standing
On the bones of the Hispanics,
on the bones of the slaves,
on the bones of the Native Americans,
on the bones of those who fought just to speak!
When you grow up and learn about the things that were purposefully left out in American history it makes one wonder what else they are hiding. The poets tone is so impassioned because it is evident these things are happening yet no one is doing anything to fix the system. The girls then turn their attention to sexual assault and the idea that just because something happens it doesn’t mean we should talk about it. Often when girls are raped they are first asked well what were you wearing. The girls counteract this question with the line,
A girl is getting felt up by a grown man on the subway
she is still in her school uniform which is part of the appeal
it is hard to run in knee socks and Mary Jane’s
and all her male teachers know it too.
Countless students are raped every year and it is continuously covered up from teachers, coaches, police officers, and judges. The poets point out how arbitrary it is to be a girl growing up in today’s society. From coaches covering up star players raping freshman to women being killed for rejecting dates, women are constantly targeted. The poem begins to close with a stanza that received a standing ovation,
What’d you learn in class today?
Don’t walk fast, don’t speak loud,
keep your hands to yourself, keep your head down, … ,
Always wear earbuds when you ride the bus alone,
If you feel like someone is following you,
pretend you’re on the phone
A teacher never fails only you do.
This stanza is significant because it refers to lessons every student has been taught growing up. This poem is impactful because it is directed toward the school board systems and it is making a statement. For years students have been silenced but I am confident others will hear this poem become outraged and stand up for future generations.
-AH
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