The Delta Music Institute and the Mobile Music Lab’s Healing With a Groove program was recently featured in Frontline Solution’s Under Construction Series, a multimedia online exhibit showcasing some of the best and brightest organizations working with males of color.
HWG is a three-week module designed to address racial healing among young men of color ages 12–19. The program utilizes discussions, songwriting and the recording of original works.
Frontline Solutions is a national consulting firm that offers clients in the nonprofit and public sectors a full range of services to enhance impact. Specifically, FS invests in the leadership pipeline, provides consulting services for institutions, and engages in field-building in three areas of expertise — education, social innovation and males of color.
The UC team of filmmakers, photographers, writers and nonprofit experts worked directly with multiple feature organizations for several weeks. Along with their coverage of HWG, the collaborations yielded comprehensive portraits of the services men of color receive.
UC recently released a thorough HWG profile video featuring the project’s unique programing. View the video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kl5kl3Incbk.
Each UC profile features a short video, a photography exhibit, a visual program model and a narrative essay detailing the efforts of these organizations. Support for these projects was made possible by Black Male Achievement Funders and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
“Healing With a Groove stands to promote racial healing through the creation and production of original songs and recordings,” said Tricia Walker, director of the DMI. “The Delta Music Institute and DMI Mobile Music Lab provide instruction in commercial songwriting, audio engineering and music technology for young men of color in the Mississippi Delta — giving them opportunities to explore and promote racial healing through the creation and dissemination of original songs.”
Participants in the project generate ideas by engaging in open dialogue sessions before crafting original songs and producing audio recordings using the professional studios and equipment of the DMI and the DMI Mobile Music Lab.
“I think the project is very productive,” Walker added. “It gives young men an environment to voice their opinions on issues that are difficult to talk about.”
Check out the Under Construction Facebook page and see more at: http://bmafunders.org/under-construction/healing-with-a-groove/#sthash.3dUTnG6r.dpuf.
Healing With a Groove is funded by a $150,000 grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation of Battle Creek, Mich.
Learn more about the Mobile Music Lab at http://dmimobilelab.org.
The Delta Music Institute is an independent center of study under the College of Arts and Sciences at Delta State University, offering a B.S. degree in Music Industry Studies. The focus of the DMI is to provide students with a broad and thorough education in the technological, creative, and business areas of the music and entertainment industry. For information, contact (662) 846-4579 or visit http://dmi.deltastate.edu.
