Keeping the beat: one of the first black students of the All-City Performing Groups is giving back what he learned through the program

Chicago Reporter, The, June, 2004 by Paula Wills

The other musicians in All-City looked at me because the polarization racially at the time was tremendously different than it is today. North of Roosevelt Road, you did not see any black people. You would see some in pockets on the West Side. If you went farther south than 87th, you wouldn't see any.

However, there is one commonality among musicians--the music. Once a musician finds out you are a musician, that you can play really well, all of the sudden race and economics become secondary to the fact that you can play.

What do you think the future holds for All-City?

It's totally dependent upon what happens systemically with music. If the Chicago Public Schools system decides to deemphasize band, we are not going to get the numbers of students that we need from the schools. The problem is that music is deemphasized to the point that it [essentially] does not exist. Music is not considered a core subject. We have the high-impact test and prairie test exams, which will determine the very existence of schools now. We're left out. They really stress the core subjects and could really care less about what goes on with music.

Another thing is that my generation of teachers is the largest group to retire in the history of [the Chicago Public Schools]. We always had somebody to come in and take over for the old teachers--but, when we start to go, there is not going to be anybody to replace us on a qualitative level. The average teaching life of a new teacher is 3.3 years. It takes seven to 10 years to be a good, workable band director.

How do you feel about the students' futures?

The Chicago Board [of Education] sets down certain character traits. The character traits they are talking about--we exhibit in music everyday: responsibility, working with others, the ability to stand up and perform under pressure, problem solving. All-City students' future is what students make it, but at least they have been given an opportunity to see what is available to them.