Latest news with #UnitingVoicesChicago
Yahoo
21-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Afterschool program uplifting Chicago students' voices through music
(NewsNation) — A group of Chicago students are lending their voices to honor Black History Month and learning about the significance of Black culture along the way. Change, power and resilience — that's the message these young voices are spotlighting while coming together to represent Africana music and culture. Uniting Voices Chicago is an afterschool program made up of 3,000 students across 88 Chicago public schools who perform free public shows at the Chicago Symphony Center. Lincoln Park High School student Daelyn Calloway is one of the voices involved. 'Singing songs like this is really exciting because I get to learn more about my culture personally and things that I wouldn't learn about in school about key songs in history, and seeing people gather together is so exciting, seeing stuff that has to do with me,' Calloway told 'Morning in America.' Black-owned barbershop thrives for 50 years as community hub The group's annual Black Futures Concert series, titled 'Afrofuturism: The Freedom Metropolis,' takes the audience through a journey of Black history, led by conductor Lonnie Norwood. 'We are putting forth the people, the civilization, the ways of knowing, the practices, the momentum. And the memory of those things make us tell their story the way that it's intended to be told,' Norwood said. The show features various genres of music and includes songs such as the 'Black National Anthem' and 'Swing Low.' During the show, the audience is introduced to the character Kendrick and his dream world, where he explores and finds healing through Afrofuturism. Uniting Voices Chicago has been performing for more than 60 years, and Norwood said the group takes pride in knowing diversity still plays a present role in its mission. 19 Black trailblazers that may not have been in your history book 'It was intentional to bring people of diverse backgrounds together to show those adults in the world who didn't know how to live together in harmony,' Norwood said. He said he is excited for the program to grow further and for the impact it will have on generations to come. 'This is really a love letter to the students to let them know that you have the ability right now — not later, but now — to start making real change in your world,' Norwood said. 'You have to start using your imagination and tapping into it. Start being critical thinkers. And we want to just challenge them to see the world first that they want to live in and then just make it happen.' That message has resonated with its students. 'You see young people coming together as one, not caring about anything else, just about music, and I think that's really important,' Calloway, 16, said. 'And if kids can do it, what can the adults do?' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
CBS News
07-02-2025
- Entertainment
- CBS News
Students from dozens of Chicago Public Schools join voices in honor of Black History Month
CHICAGO (CBS) -- What do you get when 3,000 Chicago Public Schools students join forces during Black History Month to sing? Soulful and empowering songs with a message. Uniting Voices Chicago, formerly known as the Chicago Children's Choir, teaches music to students from 88 public schools in Chicago. They're preparing for a concert series next week at Chicago Symphony Center. The journey through Black history and Africana music begins with the Black National Anthem, "Lift Every Voice and Sing," and continues with "Earth is Ghetto," a viral song by Aliah Sheffield. "I love this song, and I'm excited to be on stage with my fellow choir members," said Tristin Lopez, a 5th grader at National Teachers Academy. Tristin said "Earth is Ghetto" explores what's wrong in the world. What does it mean for her to perform songs like this, especially during Black History Month? "It means a lot to me to perform it, because I'm representing my culture and who I am. It's part of my identity," she said. For 9-year-old Rita Murtagh, the song "Swing Low" serves as a history lesson. "I learned about spirituals, which are songs in the name that can lift your spirit up if you're enslaved," said Rita, a 4th grader at National Teachers Academy. "They also had, like, secret encoded messages, and I didn't know that before." The songs are part of Uniting Voices Chicago's annual Black Futures Concert Series, entitled "Afrofuturism: The Freedom Metropolis." The audience is introduced to the character Kendrick and his dream world, where he explores Afrofuturism. "This is a method that allows us to look at problems, situations in our community, and come up with solutions. And we're looking at the next generation of leaders here, and we're saying you can start changing your world now, shaping the world you want to live in right now," said Lonnie Norwood, conductor and director of Africana studies for Uniting Voices Chicago. The choir will be performing at Chicago Symphony Center on Monday and Tuesday. The 11 a.m. shows are free and open to the public. Tickets are available on the Uniting Voices Chicago website.
