Truth Underground

Three spoken word poets struggle through poverty, discrimination and PTSD to illuminate what fellow North Carolinian Maya Angelou called 'a brave and startling truth.'

Jeremy Berggren—a marine veteran trained in mortuary sciences—lost his best friend and fellow soldier to suicide. Haunted by what he knows about war and military life, Jeremy takes his country to task and calls for veteran support through his art.

Kamaya Martin's life seemed perfect until her father left, leaving her mother with four kids and debt. Once an A student in Atlanta and her father's favorite, she languished until a program offered through Sacrificial Poets taught her spoken word poetry and led to international team competitions in Chicago and Philadelphia.

CJ Suitt grew up poor and Black in Chapel Hill, one of North Carolina's wealthiest, mostly white communities. His teacher inspired him to write poetry, and through it he uncovered his identity as a Black male.

Truth is beauty. And beauty is harsh.