Demarest Hall amplifies Black voices at open mic event

On Thursday, Demarest Hall hosted a Black History Month open mic event, featuring performances from Rutgers students and local artists as well as a presentation by the owners of the Hidden Gems Literary Emporium located in downtown New Brunswick.

Held in the Demarest's famed basement, the event was organized by Six Furr, a School of Communication and Information sophomore and the hall's Black Social Liberation section leader.

"I wanted to bring as many Black creatives that I could to Demarest," Furr said. "We have plenty of racial diversity, but I really wanted to hammer home that point."

Furr explained to The Daily Targum that in recent years, Demarest has hosted other events focused on Black artists, including last year's Black History Month open mic in collaboration with Verbal Mayhem and a Black Artist Showcase in 2022.

Furr said they wanted to differentiate Thursday's event from past ones by organizing it within Demarest and spotlighting a nonprofit organization — which ended up being Hidden Gems Literary Emporium at the suggestion of Mason Gross School of the Arts junior and Demarest hall government member Aidan Salandy.

Hidden Gems Literary Emporium, which opened in 2021 on Morris Street, is a local bookstore co-owned by Kaila Boulware Sykes, a Rutgers undergraduate alum and a current graduate student in the School of Public Health, and her husband Raymond Cheley Sykes, also a Rutgers alum.

Boulware Sykes opened the event by delivering a presentation on the bookstore, emphasizing its aim to encourage a love of reading, whether that be through hosting community-based programming or giving away 1,000 free books every year.

To the Targum, she mentioned Hidden Gems Literary Emporium's prior collaborations with Rutgers organizations like Verbal Mayhem, adding that Hidden Gems was pleased to work with Demarest for this event.

"Expression is definitely the word of the day. Even my 3-year-old son is dancing around, playing with hula hoops, and it's just a very welcoming environment," Boulware Sykes remarked on the event. "So, you know, we're enjoying ourselves watching everybody."

Unfortunately, Hidden Gems Literary Emporium will soon be losing its location on Morris Street, as the art studio it is housed in has chosen not to renew its lease. Boulware Sykes said the nonprofit is now on the hunt for a permanent space.

Earlier in the evening, Boulware Sykes discussed with event attendees how artistic communities can transform spaces into places.

"This is a space. It could be just a basement, but it's actually a place because of what people put into it," she told the Targum. "So, that's what we ask of people on how to support our organization, Hidden Gems. Just helping share, spread the word in hopes that we can find a permanent location."

In addition to Boulware Sykes' presentation, various artists such as Michael Richards, a School of Environmental and Biological Sciences junior, Dhavè Dion, and Tye Talley took the mic — the latter of whom spoke to the Targum about their experience performing at the event.

Having performed in cities from Tampa, Florida, to Philadelphia and for organizations like The Pride Center of New Jersey and GLAAD, Talley said they are always happy to perform at and around Rutgers.

"I grew up in the area. Never went to Rutgers, but (during my) teenage years, I was here all the time," they said. "The college music scene is important. That's the next generation of heavy listeners — that's where fans are made. Plus, it's just a great energy going around. When (Demarest) messaged me and told me about the open mic, I was ecstatic to come and participate."

With regard to their performance at the event, Talley said they included original songs with political themes like police brutality and trauma. One such song was "Shoot They Shot," in which Talley discusses the violence Black people undergo at the hands of law enforcement.

"My first verse has a breakdown part where I mentioned approximately 10 well-known hashtags of unarmed Black people being murdered by police officers," they said. "I've had my own dealings with police officers being inappropriate. Hell, I had a situation happen tonight. It's a daily thing that Black people have to go through, and I wanted to make a song that really touched on that."

Another song Talley performed was "Superstitious," which centers around the necessity of pain in life and features a lyrical reference to Maya Angelou's poem "Still I Rise."

Setting up the performance space for artists like Talley required coordination between Demarest residents. Tasks included setting up the live music sound system, rearranging the basement's furniture and propping up a vendor table, according to Elliott Wright, a School of Arts and Sciences first-year and Demarest resident who worked on sound setup.

Wright told the Targum he enjoyed the event and could not pick a favorite act of the night.

"We have no rap, no spoken word for the most part at the (Demarest) coffeehouses," he said. "And this is a spectacular change of pace. It's just awesome."

Commenting on the success of the event, Furr said they think this year's Black History Month open mic improved upon last year's iteration, but they want to improve it even further.

"I only want (the event) to get better. I can't say that this basement is as full as it could be. Next year, I want it to be fuller and fuller and fuller," they remarked on the success of the open mic. "These events and events like this are really, really crucial to this (residence hall) and the general culture of Rutgers."