It’s time for change...
Children and teens from Chicago’s south side are sharing their roadmap for the future in an original song recorded at The Salvation Army Ray & Joan Kroc Corps Community Center and recently released on iTunes.
Michael LaDisa, the Music and Gospel Arts Manager at the Kroc Center, asked students to think critically about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s 1967 speech entitled “What is your life’s blueprint?” In the speech given to junior high students six months before his death, Dr. King instructed the teens to “be the best of whatever you are.” Seven girls, ages five to 13, reflected on the speech and responded to it in their own words. They wrote the lyrics for a song they titled “My Dream, My Voice.”
Thirteen-year-old Tina Brooks wrote about peace.
“It’s time for change, it’s time for prayin’, it’s time for savin,’ it’s time to build, it’s time for love.”
“We have to stand strong and fight for what’s right,” Brooks said.
Trenity McGee, now 14, said her lyrics reflect a message of unity.
“No more violence, no more separation. No more broken homes.”
LaDisa helped the children and teens produce the song in the Pullman Bank and Trust Recording Studio at the Kroc Center. The four-minute song connects all of the young ladies’ thoughts. Their voices are juxtaposed with the voiceover from Dr. King’s speech.
The assignment was part of a hip hop songwriting workshop during Kroc Center’s Dream Fest last year.
“My hope for the young ladies who participated in this experience is for them to taste the reality of their potential by allowing their creative output to be valued and promoted as significant,” LaDisa said.
He said he wants them to grow restless until they reach their potential.
“I want them to know it’s OK to dream,” LaDisa said.
“My Dream, My Voice” is now available for download on iTunes and CD baby for 99 cents. All of the proceeds will benefit the Kroc Center and make programs ranging from music and the arts to family and community education classes, and the Pathway to Hope possible.
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