“Since I was young, at an early age, no one seemed to care what I had to say. If they only knew what we’ve been through, they would say, oh my god, what can I do?”

The above excerpt is from “Freedom,” a song written and recorded by two young girls imprisoned in a children’s detention center, with the help of Larry Long.

The Southern Poverty Law Center works to ensure that our children’s rights advocacy is informed and shaped in collaboration with the youth for whom we work. Despite the fact that the children we work with are frequently neglected by their schools or abused by juvenile justice systems, these youths possess an incredible resiliency and have profound insights about the systems that impact their lives.

During the Spring of 2010, the SPLC worked in collaboration with youth from the Gulf Coast Region and professional musicians to use music to give a voice to these children’s realities, hopes and dreams. Through the SPLC Youth Voices Music Project, over a few short days, these children wrote, sang and recorded seven original songs. The children demonstrate remarkable gifts and talents, as well as profound depth and thoughtfulness about life as a child in the Deep South in their music and lyrics.

Several of the children participated from behind the walls of a youth detention center in Mississippi. We were only able to work with them by passing through secured, metal doors to enter their world of imprisonment. As in most places, in Mississippi over 70 percent of the youth behind bars are accused of non-violent offenses like shoplifting, disorderly conduct or school-related offenses. At times, children as young as ten years old are locked up for a school-yard fight or for misbehaving at home.

Despite the harsh circumstances in which they are forced to exist, several children in this Mississippi detention center turned pain into beauty and sorrow into art by translating their experiences of being incarcerated into powerful songs. The sensitivity, brilliance and youthfulness of these children, as demonstrated by their art, directly challenges the grotesque practice of locking children in cages. While listening to their music, we are forced to wonder why we allow children to live in these conditions. What act could a child commit that would make him or her worthy of growing up in a cage? Could a cage ever help a child thrive and develop into a responsible adult?

This paradox is made even more obvious when confronted with the children’s hopes, dreams and acute awareness about the trajectory of their lives and possibility of a lifetime spent in prison…. As one incarcerated child stated, “We know more than what we put on the outside.  You got [kids in prison for the rest of their lives] that could have been presidents. That’s one thing I lay in my bed and worry ’bout, man.  Am I going to be next….Cause I know I’m smarter than what I put on the outside….Sometimes there ain’t no hope”.

Then, they say something that breaks your heart and forces you to remember that they are children. Just children. Living in cages. One child described his cellmates:  “Some of the boys in here, they just want to hear their family say they love ’em.  My boy in here, he was telling me… all…all I want is to hear my mama say “I love you.”

What would help these children realize their tremendous potential? How do we prevent more children from ending up behind bars? One of the major challenges facing children in the Deep South is the education system. Too many schools have become hostile environments for children instead of a refuge in which to learn.

Public school students are pushed out of school for minor misbehaviors at dramatic rates. Already, many children live in distressed communities, in which poverty and violence are prevalent. Schools could provide a safe place for children to learn and receive guidance and support instead of punishing them. When a child is repeatedly discouraged or reprimanded by educators, or suspended or expelled from school, they are more likely to drop out of school and not earn a high-school diploma. This is a tragedy of epic proportions that our nation can no longer afford to ignore.
In New Orleans, the SPLC Youth Voices Music Project worked with approximately 20 public school children, ranging from grades 5-12. These youth came together to talk about their city, their schools, their community and their future.

We began with an inter-generational dialogue circle, in which several community leaders and life-long New Orleans residents spoke of growing up in New Orleans, in segregated schools, when times were different…or so we thought.  As the students asked questions and shared their experiences, we began to notice parallels between current public school conditions and those of two generations ago.  In fact, certain things have become worse, such as the rate at which children are pushed out of school through the use of school suspensions and expulsions.

People both young and old reflected on the deterioration of public schools, the disintegration of community, and the need for people to unite to support and care for each other. People spoke of the continued impact of Hurricane Katrina, how it continues to cripple entire communities, including individuals who are unable to return or who return to a drastically changed city. They spoke of the international promise of support to rebuild New Orleans in the wake of Katrina, in contrast to the still broken and vacant houses and dilapidated school buildings that were flooded by the storm. They spoke of the violence plaguing children in the New Orleans schools and streets, how there are no safe havens anymore, and how children are too often brutalized by police officers, school security guards and other children.

Over two days we created three original songs, which included writing lyrics, developing melodies and recording live performances. One of the songs collaboratively written by the children, “Change These Ways,” declares that it is “time to build up unity, time to rebuild our community.” One 15-year-old boy arrived on the second evening to share a beautiful, searing melody that he had written that morning, titled “Dreams.” The chorus of another song, “This is Life,” cries out: “This is life, let me tell you how it is, grown folks problems in the thoughts of little kids.”

These new songs written by children through the SPLC’s Youth Voices Music Project have yet to stand the measure of time. Most assuredly, however, they are anchored in the same proud tradition of earlier songs of Justice and Freedom. The melodies, rhymes, and words all move from the same heartbeat. Now it’s time for these songs to be sung – so the voices of the children can be heard. For, as we do unto the least, we do unto ourselves.

Youth Voices Project participants:  Children imprisoned in a Mississippi youth detention center, New Orleans Youth Artists Alexis Burnside, Teal Mitchell, Kendrick Crain, Alfred Banks, Denise Pittman, Re’Jeanne Badreaux, Ranjae Cornin, Gerelyn Mitchell, John Baumbach, Cory Burd, Chrishawn DeBose, Knowledge is Born, Isaac Bourgeois, Cassandra Tran, Daylin “Tizz” Bolding, Ladonna Bryer, Jerron Fournett, Jeremy Mitchell, Venecia Mitchell.

New Orleans Community Leaders: DJ Markey, Ted Quant, Yvette Thierry

Consulting Musicians: Skipp Coon (epk.tibbitmusic.com/tibbit_epk.pdf), Chuck “Lyrikill” Jones (www.thesoundclash.com), Larry Long (www.larrylong.org), Truth Universal (www.truthuniversal.com),

To hear these songs, please visit: www.splcenter.org/voices

We are presently producing two film documentaries of the songs “Tibet” and “Be Kind to All That Live”, both written through the Elders’ Wisdom, Children’s Song process, and featured on Don’t Stand Still.

When I was thirteen years of age, my father passed away. My family received help from good neighbors with food and letters of comfort. One of those letters of comfort came from my Little League coach, Mr. Mayeda.

Thirty years after my father’s death I came upon Mr. Mayeda’s letter. I was so moved by his words that I sought him out. He had moved to Oceanside, California. He was terminally ill. I called and thanked him for his letter of comfort to me when my father passed and for his years of volunteering as my Little League coach.

Mr. Mayeda said to me, “Larry, my family was part of the 125,000 Japanese Americans placed into internment camps during World War II. I have one favor to ask. Could you please write a song about the Japanese-American internment camps?” I promised Mr. Mayeda I would. He passed away soon thereafter.

In his honor, I visited the Manzanar Internment Camp in California and read books about the Japanese-American experience with hopes of inspiration. Nothing came in the way of a song, until now.

During one of my residencies, Mrs. Helen Tsuchiya, the grandmother of a child in one of my classrooms, shared her Japanese-American internment story with the chil dren. After she spoke, I discovered that her husband and she were best friends with Mr. Mayeda and his family, and that her husband had coached with Mr. Mayeda in the Babe Ruth League.

About the Documentary Film Videographer

Mr. David McDonald is producing both documentary films.   Before returning to Minnesota to raise his family, David McDonald worked throughout the world as a cameraman for the Reuters News Agency.  Presently, David lives in Grand Rapids, Minnesota with his family and is an independent multimedia producer, as well as instructor of mass communications at Itasca Community College and Leach Lake Tribal College.  David McDonald has been donating his services, but will have shared ownership of the final product with Community Celebration of Place.

Filming Timeline

On March 13, David will be filming and interviewing elder Helen Tsuchiya, who inspired Be Kind To All That Live, about her experiences in the Japanese American Internment Camp in World War II.  Helen was the photographer in the camp and her photographs will be the featured images throughout the audio of her song in this documentary. Featured on the recording of Be Kind To All That Live is Helen’s son, Todd Tsuchiya, a local dentist and leader of Minnesota’s premiere Taiko Drum group.

Documentary Film Release Date: April 9, 2011

We are presently producing two film documentaries of the songs “Tibet” and “Be Kind to All That Live”, both written through the Elders’ Wisdom, Children’s Song process, and featured on Don’t Stand Still.

In 2008 Gyatsho Tshering shared his life story with 3rd grade students at Valley View Elementary School in Columbia Heights, Minnesota, through the Elders’ Wisdom, Children’s Song program. Gyatsho Tshering established with the Dalai Lama the library to hold the archives of the Tibetan people in India.  In December 2010 the sound recording of Tibet was completed.

Artists and community members featured on the sound recording of Tibet include: Venerable Tibetan Monks Gendun Kelsang, Jampa Thupten, and Lobsang Jungnes from the Gyuto Tantric and Gyuto Wheel of Dharma Monastery (Multiphonic chanting) ; Dolma & Yiga Tshering with family and friends from the Tibetan community of Minnesota (choral vocals and prayer), Marc Anderson (world percussionist), Dirk Freymuth (electric guitar),  Billy Peterson (bass), Ricky Peterson (keyboards), JD Steele (harmony vocals) and Larry Long (lead vocal, 12 string guitar).

Film Timeline

David McDonald has been making several trips from Grand Rapids to Minneapolis, Minnesota from January – March 2011 to cover select Tibetan events including:

  1. Gyatsho Tshering’s home
  2. Tibetan Community Cultural Center
  3. Gyuto Tantric and Gyuto Wheel of Dharma Monastery
  4. Tibetan New Year 2011 activities March 5 – 20
  5. March 10 – Tibetan Uprising Day

Documentary Film Release Date: April 9, 2011

The Pioneer Press had a great article on Larry and his work with Community Celebration of Place/Elders’ Wisdom, Children’s Song:

Ruben Rosario: Classroom troubadour sings to children to honor adults

The man the legendary writer Studs Terkel once called ‘a true American troubadour’ was thick in the middle of his day job the other day — helping a class of fourth-graders compose a song.

‘Like the bullfighter/the brave matador/Like the bull in the arena, together we strive for/A life of balance, to live in harmony,’ the kids sang and swayed while Larry Long played the simple melody on his acoustic guitar.

“I’m excited about this song,” the 60-year-old Twin Cities resident told the class of fellow songwriters at the Fine Arts Interdisciplinary Resource magnet school in Crystal. “I would like to get a full orchestra.”

The song probably won’t crack Billboard’s Hot 100 anytime soon. But it wasn’t meant to. It was meant to celebrate the rich tapestry of the American experience in a tangible, communal way.

Read the rest

 

The CD release concert at Loring Theater will feature the showing of two music-film productions, produced by David McDonald of DMcD Productions, which feature songs on the Don’t Stand Still sound recording:

Tibet (Honoring Gyatsho Tshering)

Gyatsho TsheringThe song Tibet was composed by Larry Long with Tara Thukral’s fifth grade class of Valley View Elementary School, Columbia Heights. It was created during an Elders’ Wisdom, Children’s Song residency program in the school (with support from the West Metro Education Program and McKnight Foundation). It was written in honor of Gyatsho Tshering, a Tibetan scholar and author.  (For more about Gyatsho Tshering plus video and audio recordings from the school residency click here.)

Artists and community members featured on the sound recording of Tibet include: Venerable Tibetan Monks Gendun Kelsang, Jampa Thupten, and Lobsang Jungnes from the Gyuto Tantric and Gyuto Wheel of Dharma Monastery (Multiphonic chanting); Dolma & Yiga Tshering with family and friends from the Tibetan community of Minnesota (choral vocals and prayer), Marc Anderson (world percussionist), Dirk Freymuth (electric guitar), Billy Peterson (bass), Ricky Peterson (keyboards), JD Steele (harmony vocals) and Larry Long (lead vocal, 12 string guitar).

You can watch a video clip of Tibet here.

Be Kind To All That Live (Honoring Helen Tsuchiya)

Helen TsuchiyaBe Kind To All That Live was written by Larry Long with students at Prairie View Elementary in Eden Prairie, MN, created during an Elder’s Wisdom, Children’s Song residency in 2004. It honors community elder Helen Tsuchiya, a Japanese-American internment camp survivor currently living in St. Louis Park, MN.  (For more about Helen Tsuchiya plus video and audio recordings from the school residency click here.)

Featured on the sound recording is Helen’s son, Todd Tsuchiya, on taiko drums, Larry Long on guitar and vocals, JD Steele on harmony vocals, Pete Watercott on violin and Lonnie Knight on backup guitar.

The music-documentary also features photographs that Helen took while  interned at the Gila River Japanese American internment camp in Arizona during World War II.

Larry Long Talks About Be Kind to All That Live (written in 2004):

“When I was thirteen years of age, my father passed away. My family received help from good neighbors with food and letters of comfort. One of those letters of comfort came from my Little League coach, Mr. Mayeda.

Thirty years after my father’s death I came upon Mr. Mayeda’s letter. I was so moved by his words that I sought him out. He had moved to Oceanside, California. He was terminally ill. I called and thanked him for his letter of comfort to me when my father passed and for his years of volunteering as my Little League coach.

Mr. Mayeda said to me, “Larry, my family was part of the 125,000 Japanese Americans placed into internment camps during World War II. I have one favor to ask. Could you please write a song about the Japanese-American internment camps” I promised Mr. Mayeda I would. He passed away soon thereafter.

In his honor, I visited the Manzanar Internment Camp in California and read books about the Japanese-American experience with hopes of inspiration. Nothing came in the way of a song, until now.

During one of my residencies at Prairie View Elementary, Mrs. Helen Tsuchiya, the grandmother of a child in one of my classrooms, shared her Japanese-American internment story with the children. After she spoke, I discovered that her husband and she were best friends with Mr. Mayeda and his family. Not only that, but her husband had coached with Mr. Mayeda in the Babe Ruth League.

Through Mrs. Tsuchiya, I was able to fulfill the promise made to my Little League coach, Mr. Mayeda. Forever grateful.

About David McDonald, producer of Don’t Stand Still music/film production

Before returning to Minnesota to raise his family, David McDonald worked throughout the world as a cameraman for the Reuters News Agency. Presently, David lives in Grand Rapids, Minnesota with his family and is an independent multimedia producer, as well as instructor of mass communications at Itasca Community College and Leach Lake Tribal College.

About Community Celebration of Place and Elder’s Wisdom, Children’s Song

Elder’s Wisdom, Children’s Song is a program of the nonprofit organization, Community Celebration of Place. Larry Long serves as the Executive Director. For more information about their work in schools and communities across the U.S., visit their website at www.communitycelebration.org.