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(republished with the permission of Vincent Sylvain
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theNewOrleansAgenda.com):
Lenny Kravitz and VH1 donated $20,000 worth of instruments to the Craig Elementary School in Treme
August 28, 2006
Music community shocked to discover that these major tributes to Louis Armstrong and the music traditions of New Orleans have been neglected and have failed to be put to good use.
Lenny Kravitz and VH1 donated instruments not being used
New Orleans, LA. -Much of the world is aware of the fact that Music is New Orleans and New Orleans is Music. In an effort to serve this long creative history and culture of "makin' music," Lenny Kravitz and VH1 donated $20,000 worth of instruments to the Craig Elementary School in Treme. Most recently, Tamb-o- rine & Fan's Old Notes/New Notes project was able to attract the additional donation of over $15,000 of musical instruments from the National Parks Service.
It is shocking to both musicians and the community to discover that these major tributes to Louis Armstrong and the music traditions of New Orleans and the contributions to Craig School have been neglected and have failed to be put to good use since the Recovery School District assumed administrative responsibility for Craig School. Music education is the centerpiece of the musical tradition in the Treme neighborhood. Such a generous jump start for the music education program should be a beacon and a symbol of the rebirth of our schools. Instead, there is no music program and the culture and the inspiration that culture is to the children is absent from the education formula at Craig School. This is a blatant obstruction to the preservation of the music that gives New Orleans a universal appeal.
What must be recognized is the role that Craig School plays as anchor and torch passer for musical culture in Treme. Craig provides the opportunity for children to embrace the sounds on their streets, from the popular music of Louis Armstrong to Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews.
Longtime community resident, Jerome Smith, suggests that "this is an injustice and a effort to willfully diminish and destruct the influence of our rich cultural heritage with our children. It is important that we speak out against the fact that the instruments have been locked away and that there is no music program to show for the donation. These are the kinds of stories that give our city and our school systems such a bad name."
"Those of us who are anchored to the music of this city and who recognize the inspiration that music can be to our children must raise their voice and question the motives and the actions of the Recovery School District. We demand an accounting for the lack of progress in implementing a music program at Craig School. We want to know, when will the music program start?"
We are requesting that those who love the music and culture of New Orleans, please contact the governor to convey your dissatisfaction with this situation. This cannot and will not be tolerated. Especially, given that prior to the Recovery School Take-over there were serious steps being taken by the Orleans Parish School Board to implement a music program at the school that would offer such enrichment and inspiration to our children.
Contact: Jerome Smith Tamb-o-rine & Fan, Inc. nntyehemba@amherst.edu 917/623-5873
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Sincerely,
Vincent Sylvain
The New Orleans Agenda
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phone: 504-244-6638
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