Black teachers matter!
Kendrick Lamar just put on an outstanding performance at Super Bowl LIX, featuring appearances by Samuel L. Jackson, SZA, and tennis icon Serena Williams. But before Kendrick Lamar became a Pulitzer Prize-winning lyricist with nearly two dozen Grammy Awards, he was just another student with a love for words in Compton. Regis Inge, a veteran educator with the Compton Unified School District, remembers him well—not as a global icon, but as a quiet, thoughtful student at Vanguard Learning Center with an undeniable talent for storytelling, NBC Los Angeles reports.
Inge, now a teacher at Compton Early College High School, recalls introducing a young Lamar to poetry, a spark that would later fuel his career as one of the most celebrated artists of his generation. When Inge first heard of Lamar’s rise to fame, his initial reaction was disbelief.
“Kendrick Duckworth is a rapper? Quiet Kendrick?” he recalled. But upon reflection, the signs were always there.
Lamar, who once struggled with shyness and even a stutter, found his voice through writing. Inge saw his potential early on and encouraged him to refine his skills. He placed a thesaurus in Lamar’s hands, circling words that could expand his vocabulary and enhance his storytelling.
“The passion… which he was writing with, it was there [already],” Inge said. I was circling words that I felt that he could improve on because of the range of the words, the grade level of the words,” he added.
That passion would lead Lamar to create music that bridges cultures and experiences, blending the every day with the educated, the colloquial with the refined. His groundbreaking work earned him a Pulitzer Prize, not just for his music but for his linguistic authenticity and social commentary.
What makes Inge most proud isn’t just Lamar’s accolades but his commitment to staying true to himself and inspiring others. Though Inge has received his own share of teaching honors, he remains grounded in his mission to uplift all of his students. Seeing Lamar now gracing the Super Bowl and Grammy stages still amazes Inge.
“It’s still surreal because I treat all of them like I treated Kendrick,” he said. “They’re my children.”
Kendrick Lamar’s journey from a quiet classroom in Compton to stages around the world is proof that with the right encouragement, young voices can grow into powerful forces of change.
Cover photo: Meet the Compton Teacher Who Sparked Kendrick Lamar’s Love for Words/Photo credit: Regis Inge/KCAL News