A Space Inside: ‘We Live In Color’ Sends of Season 3 with Poetry and Spoken Word
Deaunte Damper, host and executive producer of We Live In Color, sits in the Black Media Matters Studio. (Photo: Jordan Somers)
By Mead Gill
With Black artistic brilliance on full display, the finale of We Live In Color Season 3 airs this Thursday, October 30. Hosted and executive produced by Deaunte Damper, the final episode captured the essence of A Space Inside, a transformative arts studio and open-mic night that recently closed its brick-and-mortar in Downtown Seattle.
Despite the absence of Inside’s physical space, Damper and Emmy Award-winning director of We Live In Color Erik Kalligraphy allowed the spirit of the beloved institution to live and breathe through Converge Media, platforming a lineup of local poets and spoken word artists whose vulnerability, resilience, and deep-rooted truth echoed through the walls.
We Live In Color casted a mesmerizing spell on the Black Media Matters Studio, designing a sanctuary where Black artistic voices resonated loud and clear. The bill of talent consisted of Abigail Echo-Hawk, Sassy The Cap, Cassie, Ascended Reality, Darryl Foto, and Kalligraphy himself.
Darryl Foto performs his piece “I Ain’t Got Bars” for the season finale of We Live In Color in the Black Media Matters Studio. (Photo courtesy of Kalligraphy)
To Damper and Kalligraphy, the decision to conclude Season 3 with an Inside-style artist showcase was set in stone before the season started production.
“When the cameras aren’t rolling, all me and Erik talk about is art and culture and how grounded we feel when someone is saying a poem, or someone is speaking how they feel through music,” Damper said, praising Kalligraphy’s dedication to making their vision come to life.
Damper has been an integral part of A Space Inside since its inception, helping shape its spirit of healing, laughter, and community. For the past three years, he has hosted the beloved open mics, curating a space where authentic expression and connection thrive.
Season 3 was a difficult process to put together compared to past seasons, Damper explained, largely due to the national eraser of LGBTQ+ issues and history.
“Living in this climate with everything that's going on, sometimes we don't even have an opportunity to feel what we're feeling,” he said.
Reflecting on his devoted career in storytelling and community upliftment, Damper witnessed first-hand how other people’s trauma has the power to spark realizations of healing in oneself. To him, that’s what Season 3 is all about: creating A Space Inside where those epiphanies of healing can happen alongside the striking force of Black poetry and spoken word.
Drawing lines between We Live In Color and the human spirit’s inherent connection to music, Damper compared his mission to the golden-era Dolly Parton song “Coat Of Many Colors,” a folk-country classic that celebrates and marvels at the beauty in difference.
“We have so many different creeds and colors of who we are,” he said, pointing to the rich diversity within the Black queer community that make up the Emerald City’s own coat of many colors.
Kalligraphy echoed Damper’s sentiment, while making it clear that the robust quilt of the Black community is, at the end of the day, one piece of fabric.
“I get tired of people trying to separate the Black community,” he said, explaining that the season finale is a way to convey unity despite existing in a society that perpetually points to the differences. “This is Black community, no lines and no borders.”
Erik Kalligraphy, director of We Live In Color, stands in the Black Media Matters Studio. (Photo: Jordan Somers)
The final episode is deeply personal to Kalligraphy, harkening back to his high school days when his social life revolved around spoken word. From an early age, his involvement in a spoken word circle introduced him to people from all walks of life, coming together in the name of social poetry.
Taking the time to embrace people’s artistic expression regardless of their background laid the foundation for Kalligraphy’s perspective on the Black queer community’s struggles.
“In recent years, safe spaces like that have been lost, not only for adults, but for teens as well,” he said, his old spoken word circles and A Space Inside. “Those types of places kept me out of trouble. And I love to see people keeping it alive.”
One of the featured artists in the season finale is Pacific Northwest poet Darryl Foto, who performed his dynamic and harrowing piece “I Ain’t Got Bars.” Upon walking into the makeshift Space Inside to perform, Foto felt at home.
“It felt like I was walking into a living room at a cookout,” he said, describing his incomprehensible connection to the Converge Media family and Damper as an engaging host, formidable change-maker, and dear friend.
“Deaunte is the embodiment of ‘I will use everything I have to uplift people around me,’” Foto said, attempting to define his admiration of the host. “I don't have the words. A poet without words…crazy.”
Leaving all of their hard work on the screen, Damper and Kalligraphy expressed immense pride in the social progress they’ve made throughout Season 3, and are already brainstorming fresh ways to showcase Black LGBTQ+ excellence for seasons to come.
When asked what most excited him about the finale, Damper boiled it down to the ethos of Converge Media.
“I can't wait for people to see more of why Black media matters,” he said. “And above all else, in the words of Omari Salisbury, we're going to be able to put paint where it ain't.”
Damper dedicated the Season 3 finale of We Live In Color to his grandmother, Annie Mae Ritchy, who passed away on October 17, 2025
Catch the season finale of We Live In Color tomorrow, Thursday, October 30 at 8 p.m. PST on all Converge Media streaming platforms.
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