DISABILITY JUSTICE

During the pandemic racist, ableist systems dehumanized and confined the Reality Poets. Realizing that they had the microphone at the center of the storm, the group began advocating for those living and working in long-term care, particularly Black and brown nursing home residents who saw twice the amount of Covid deaths as their white counterparts. The Reality Poets have launched the Nursing Home Lives Matter movement and are working on a documentary film about their harrowing year on “lockdown” fighting for their lives and their freedoms.

COMMUNITY BUILDING

Before OPEN DOORS, the group of men who would later become the founding members of the Reality Poets, would congregate outside the massive brick building at the tip of Roosevelt Island, smoke and share stories. This loose cohort was the start of what is now a dynamic creative community. Since the group formed in 2017, they’ve met with hundreds of young people and collaborated with renowned artists on a poetry anthology, original play  and hip-hop album, among other projects. We welcome everyone to join the Poets for their virtual hangout, Freestyle Fridays, each week to share and discuss art and activism.

GUN VIOLENCE PREVENTION

Many of the originating Reality Poets are gun violence survivors. Var was shot by a friend over a dice game; EL was gunned down in a case of mistaken identity; Vince was robbed at gunpoint; Tito was shot in a gang turf war; and Suluk spent thirty years in prison after being shot by a racist cop. This legacy guides how we show up in the world. The Reality Poets educate youth about the consequences of running the streets—that guns lead not only to jail or death but also to life in the chair—and inform audiences of all ages and backgrounds about the injustice that breeds violence in our cities. To further this work, Reality Poet Vincent Pierce has started his own music program called ZING!—designed to keep kids off the streets and in the studio and to create intergenerational spaces of healing and wisdom.