Poet challenges youth
to make country great
By Joel Strauch
Senior Reporter
Esteemed poet and author Maya
Angelou gave a rousing performance
to a diverse audience last night at
Pershing Auditorium.
The crowd consisted of students,
teachers and lovers of Angelou's
work from every background. They
listened attentively and appreciatively
to her stunning presentation.
Angelou used speech, poetry and
song to address those in attendance.
She opened with a 19th century slave
song, demonstrating her majestic
voice.
She aimed her message to the stu
dents in the crowd. She told them that
they weren’t at the University of Nc
braska-Lincoln to just get a piece of
paper and then get a middle-class job
and live a normal life.
She told them that they were here
to be given a chance to make this
country as great as it can be.
She told the young that they had
been left to solve the world’s prob
lems from earlier generations.
And she said that the only way to
do this was to go to the library and
read, to get an education while it is
paid for.
She used her own experiences of
overcoming adversity as a demonstra
tion to the new generation.
She talked of her rape at a young
age by her mother’s boyfriend (and
his subsequent murder by her uncles),
and how this incident resulted in her
thinking that her voice was capable
of murder. She didn’t speak for years,
but she read every chance she got.
She talked of her crippled Uncle
Willy and how he was an inspiration
to her and others. She told the audi
ence that each person had their own
“Uncle Willy” that they could use to
stimulate their determination.
And she spoke of the importance
of laughter in our lives. She showed
how our laughter could invigorate our
hope and take us through the trials
of life.
She used her appreciation of hu
mor often in her performance. She
joked about an auditorium the size of
Pershing not being her usual venue.
She said that it was “for rock and roll
bands ... and big Gospel choirs.”
She also talked of the timelessncss
of an 1892 folk song that could have
been written for a rapper “like Queen
Latifah, Hammer or L.L. Cool and
the Gang.”
Throughout her performance,
whether she joked or instructed, her
powerful voice echoed her message
throughout the stadium.
Lied to be site
for ‘Jazz Jam’
From Staff Reports
Inspired by voices of the past,
three up-and-coming jazz artists will
bring their “New Voices” to the Lied
Center for Performing Arts this week
end.
The Columbia Jazz Jam — vocal
ist Nnenna Freelon, guitarist Russell
Malone and organist Joey
DeFrancesco — will perform indi
vidually and then join together for a
unique “Jazz Jam.”
The concert is part of the Lied
Center’s “New Voices” series that is
committed to bringing promising
new artists into the community.
One artist may not qualify for up
and-coming, though. Freelon, al
though not a jazz legend, already has
established her notoriety in the jazz
world.
Freelon has a score of albums,
awards and experience to her name.
Her recent release, “Listen,” came
on the heel of Mr two previous re
leases, “Heritage” and “Nnenna
Freelon.”
She is also a recipient of the Billie
Holiday Award from France’s
Academie Du Jazz and the Eubic
Blake Award from New York’s Cul
tural Crossroads.
The Columbia Jazz Jam artists
will perform at 8 p.m. on Friday.
Regular tickets are S18, $ 14 and $ 10,
and student tickets are half price.
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