Devine Carama Speaks To Over 8,000 Students For Black History Month!
February is widely known as "Black History Month" across the nation and many schools facilitate celebrations and assemblies for students highlighting the importance African Americans have had and continue to have on the fabric of the United States. Our director, Devine Carama, is often called upon to speak at such assemblies, using his gift in hip hop as away to connect with youth on the importance of leadership, legacy and social activism. In February of 2020, Devine Carama spoke to over 9,000 students to celebrate black history month. Check out photos and thoughts from Devine below:
"My journey as a youth motivational speaker is entering it's 7th year, now. With all of the work and youth engagement I do in Lexington, KY, many of my invites are coming from outside of my hometown. Most likely because most of the students in Fayette County have heard my messages on several occasions. Though I'm honored and feel blessed to be able to expand my message out of town, I still enjoying being able to pour into the students I see and work with on weekly basis. So over the last 2 years, I've began diversifying my presentations to cover more topics that resonate with youth and young adults. As an artist, motivational speaking was not something I sought out to do, so in the beginning I just stuck to my comfortable pocket of talking about hip hop and the power of words. But as my passion and work in community service and social activism began to increase, so did my knowledge and my ability to speak on a plethora of topics ranging from diversity, inclusion, leadership, legacy, finding your purpose, bullying, and more! Now equipped with fresh stories and new presentations, I've been able to present more here at home and give the students that hear me regularly, some fresh perspectives."
"Probably the most challenging thing about being a youth presenter is the ebb and flow between age groups and adjusting messages to cater to that specific grade level. One day you might be in an auditorium full of 18 year old high school seniors and the next day you might be in a gym full of screaming 1st graders. Being able to be flexible in the presentation of my messages, creates more opportunities for me to do what a love which is to speak and inspire young people towards service and leadership. Usually the themes for Black History Month programs are focused on the achievements of the past, which is very important. But I always try and find away to challenge students on what their impact will be today, using the past as inspiration and motivation for their own service and leadership."
For more information booking Devine Carama, contact him at KingtuckyLLC@gmail.com