Why I still love H.E.R.: Kyle Koch bids Kansas City’s hip-hop farewell

Last week, I was supposed to fly to Boston for a student workshop at my high school alma mater as part of its annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration. I’d been given five minutes to talk to the students about myself and about my interest in civil rights.

My high school is one of the nation’s storied academic institutions. I was faced with the challenge of figuring out what I could say to a room crowded with youth and privilege: two characteristics that don’t necessarily mesh with an abiding interest in civil rights. I eventually settled on a single question about myself that I hoped would catch these kids’ attention. Then a blizzard hit. Flights were canceled, and so was my talk.

I had planned to ask the class a simple question: Why does a white kid write about hip-hop?