Words come to life as Sulette Lange steps into the spotlight and faces her fear.
"I used to be really scared of public speaking. It was a very big fear of mine. I didn't like speaking in front of big groups of people, and I just wasn't very good at it," said Lange.
"We ask our children
to act calm/nervous/whatever
innocent looks like when
some cop shows his badge/pulls his gun/slows his car," the poem begins.
But, during the school day, Lange is like any other high school junior, trying to carve her own path at Hazleton Area Arts and Humanities Academy.
It wasn't until her freshman year that her English class broke her out of her shell through the Poetry Out Loud Competition.
Poetry Out Loud is a National Arts Education program that encourages the study of poetry. The students, like Lange, must take part in the competition as part of a graded assessment.
"I didn't take it very serious. I think I showed up in pajamas. I wasn't really excited about it. And that time I remember being really nervous, I was shaking. I'm pretty sure the audience could see it," said Lange.
What started as a grade has now turned into a passion.
English teacher Michelle Yakubowski says it's incredible to see her transformation through the years.
"She has just really blossomed. as a student, as a human. I think even some of the poems made her look at the world differently," said Yakubowski.
"No is an existential threat.
No is an existential threat.
No is an existential threat," the poem continues.
The poems Lange recites for the competition, focus on struggles of Americans, poverty, injustice and police brutality. The one she recited for Newswatch 16 is Respectability by Tina Boyer Brown—words she connects with in a way not all of us could.
"George
Tamir
and more
and more
and more," the poem continues.
She's sharing out loud the stories of those who have been silenced.
"It comes from the soul. It really comes from the soul, just experiences I had, especially with that one. It just really speaks to me," said the junior.
As the lights come up on the national stage at the end of the month, Lange will be more than just a student. She will be representing the entire state of Pennsylvania in the Poetry Out Loud National competition in DC with these very same words.
"That's what really wins, the fact that you're being authentic, you're able to be yourself. You're able to be yourself on that stage and win like that," said Lange.
As she finds her place in this world by stepping on stage and tackling her biggest fear.
"They shut down/they shut down/they shut down
the forces that burn against them," Lange says as she wraps her performance.
The Poetry Out Loud National Finals will be held in Washington, DC, from April 30 to May 2, 2024.