Kevin Kantor, a contemporary slam poet, was born in 1993 to a family in Chicago. He grew up with an older brother, Adam, whom he grew especially close to as they grew up together. Kantor thinks of Adam as his best friend, always being someone whom he could count on and someone who has known him in the best of times and in the worst of times. Kantor saw Adam as an inspiration in his life, being someone he could always look up to. Kantor came out to his family in his teen years, opening up about identifying as a gay male. Kantor, of course, now had to face marginalization due to the fact he is considered a “minority”. One day Kantor, his sister-in-law, and his niece went on a trip to Colorado. (Source: tumblr bio). Kantor recalled being immediately enthralled with the place, saying that he decided then to never leave. He applied to the University of Northern Colorado and got accepted as an acting major. Even before Kantor’s personal experience he saw himself as an advocate for change regarding gender inequality. At UNC he found the spoken word community, immediately being captivated and drawn in by it. Poetry allowed him to express himself and speak out on issues that he cared about, that being sexuality and equality. When visiting back home during spring …show more content…
He expected Adam to be supportive and there for him as he always had been throughout their lives. Adam, however, also asked him why he did not fight back. This question hurt Kantor beyond words, he recalled to Mordecai from UpWorthy News. He said that he had to realize that many people do not known how to be there for someone in a situation as fragile and horrific as this one. Kantor learned that, “sometimes even the people that love you the most don’t know how to protect you from or deal with the aftermath of trauma, but it doesn’t mean they don’t love you.” This was an important and crucial step in Kantor’s steps towards acceptance and