For once, the Pit was silent. All that was heard were words of hidden voices.
A crowd of students gathered in the Pit on Monday night as the Songs in the Key of Justice performers moved from the Frank Porter Graham Student Union auditorium to share their art with a broader audience.
The event, scheduled as part of a series related to the freshman summer reading program, consisted of performances by John Flynn, a singer-songwriter whose songs deal with social justice and political messages, and actors from Hidden Voices, a nonprofit organization based in Cedar Grove devoted to connecting communities through spoken word.
Before the event, Flynn had high hopes for how students would react to his music.
“I write songs that deal with what I’m experiencing, how I’m wrestling with the questions in my life — the things that I’m trying to get my head around and my heart around,” Flynn said.
“I want to reach anyone who is in the room. How they react isn’t as important as that they react," he said. "I’d love it if the songs touched somebody enough that they ask a question or share a feeling.”
After Flynn’s opening songs, actors from Hidden Voices performed dramatic readings of a series of six pieces written by men sentenced to die in prison, sparking the emotion Flynn hoped for.
Freshman Imani Burwell felt a personal connection during the performance.
“I think the monologues were actually true because my brother just got out from being incarcerated, so I connected on a different level," Burwell said. "I knew what they were talking about since he has told me personally.”
