The song that left me speechless: In Studio 111, music and poetry let youth in detention be heard

"But what if you don't know no beautiful?" I did not know at that time, but this interaction with Lil K from Alpha Unit, in Room 111, would reaffirm and fine-tune the mission and goal of Radical Reversal, and that is to amplify the dialogue concerning incarceration and create justice, racial and rehabilitation equity through creative outlets inside mortar and brick places many have deemed to be outdated and are searching for alternative solutions. Before we picked the initial eight students that would rotate every two weeks, we brought each unit to visually see the creative space, to let them know the buzz regarding a recording studio being placed at the YDC was not a figment of someone's imagination, but it was real, tangible, here — right now. After hearing a draft I sent, poet and Guggenheim Fellow Patrick Rosal added a flute, Radical Reversal's Brendan Regan laid down a guitar groove for melodic tone, and this song that originated from the student who didn't know no beautiful became the flagship of creative excellence in Studio 111. When court judges, city council people, politicians — including Birmingham Mayor Randle Woodfin, among others — came to visit Studio 111, we always played the song created by Alpha Unit's Lil K. We made sure Lil K was in the room to hear the handclaps, the cheers, the standing ovations for a young student trying to find her inside a detention center.