ALLENTOWN, Pa. — When Keane and Kayla Carrington took the stage at Allentown’s Civic Theater on March 22, they had no idea their powerful spoken word performance would resonate so deeply across America.
Their piece, which begins with the familiar words of the Pledge of Allegiance before transforming into a pointed commentary on racial justice and national division, has garnered over 700,000 views on TikTok.
The siblings, who moved to the Lehigh Valley from Brooklyn nine years ago, are now processing what it means to have their voices amplified on such a large scale.
“We know what we have to cook with this one,” Kayla, 15, recalled thinking when preparing for the “Family Reunion” Black music and entertainment special directed and conceived by local community leaders Juanita Renay Gray & Veronica Cummings.
The performance strikes at the heart of contemporary American division, questioning notions of unity in a country that often feels split along political lines.
“United? In a country most divided? Where every time I put on the news, every problem seems one sided,” Kayla delivers in the opening lines.
Keane, 18, responds with equal conviction: “One? Most days it feels like two, but every conversation, I feel like I got to pick and choose which side, red, or blue?”
Their interchange builds to a powerful crescendo addressing racial injustice, culminating in lines about unequal treatment in the justice system that brought the audience to its feet with thunderous applause.
Brooklyn Roots, Lehigh Valley Growth
The siblings’ journey to this moment began in Brooklyn. Their family relocated to the Lehigh Valley when Keane was ten and Kayla was six, moving “in the middle of school,” as Kayla describes it.
Though they’re three years apart, people often mistake them for twins, partly because they frequently dress alike. “We’ve been doing this for like, since forever,” Kayla explained in an interview conducted a week after their performance.
As the only two children in their immediate family, they’ve built strong community connections. “We have a bunch of people we grew up with around here that we call our siblings,” Keane shared.
Finding Their Voice
The siblings’ creative partnership evolved naturally. While Kayla has been drawn to poetry since eighth grade, Keane initially found his voice through rap and music.
“I wasn’t really into poetry like I sucked at it… but when it came to rapping and making music and stuff, I was like, okay, I can rock with this,” Keane explained.
Their collaboration process is spontaneous. Keane describes how their viral piece came together: “I’d start spitting stuff. Just started throwing stuff out there.”
Kayla added, “I was doing homework… I was like, what are you doing? I was like, hold on, let me write this down right now.”
Inspiration from Reality
The subject matter of their work stems directly from their lived experiences and family conversations.
“Especially as like two young Black kids, our parents constantly tell us and remind us like how the world is gonna be for like in reality, how it’s gonna be for us,” Kayla explained.
Keane described the emotions that fueled their creation: “I was kind of mad… I saw everything that was going around in the world with the way the politics are going, the way the world’s changed.”
For Kayla, her identity provides additional motivation: “Being a young Black female, I’m limited, I’m just like, you know what? I’m gonna make what I can do in special ways.”
Community Connections
Their connection to Juanita, a producer of the show, spans nearly their entire time in the Lehigh Valley. They met her at church shortly after moving to the area when they were seeking a church family.
“She has been someone who actually first got us into theater and performing,” Kayla said. “She like introduced us to like a musical and was like, why don’t y’all try it?”
Juanita also helped refine their performance skills. “She also taught us how to sing a bit. We knew how to sing, but she taught us how to like really sing,” Keane added.
Looking Forward
The siblings see their viral moment as just the beginning. They hope to perform at schools and poetry events and potentially return to their New York roots with their message.
“I would like to see it go for like me and you just like going from like schools and like different events,” Keane said.
Kayla envisions collaborating with other local artists like Ms. Latrice, who also performed at the event and conducts workshops at schools. Their parents have become their strongest advocates.
“After the first time in church, my dad was just like, ‘y’all got to do something right now,'” Keane recalled.
The siblings’ ultimate goal extends beyond personal recognition. As they succinctly put it: “We want to change. Like we said, it takes more than two Black kids and a spoken word… It’s going to take more than us.”
