This Was Our Night

This was our night. This is our world. This is our voice. On Monday November 20 our group of young vocally empowered women gathered on the stage of the Innisfree Poetry Bookstore and Coffee Shop to celebrate the completion of the SPEAK 12 sessions with our friends, families and strangers. “To look into the sea of faces both strange and familiar, I could not help but feel encouraged,” said Leela Stoede. On August 29 we had begun our vocal empowerment journey and each step of the way explored the impact of our voices on the world. We began the night by explaining what an empowered voice means. Before hand, we had prepared personal declarations that explained what we were and how we think our community could improve. We also included song, dance, and skits to express how actions are a big part in making an empowered voice. By the end of the night, we all felt like we have empowered voices, and we are taking them out into the world!