CHICAGO — Jeanne Warsaw-Gazga has taken her act to the South Side.
For the first time, Warsaw-Gazga's social justice-based arts curriculum called Motivate and Encourage Music Appreciation — better known as MeMA — is at a South Side school. Eighth-graders at Langford Academy in Englewood are participating in the program that helps brings people together through the power of music and its lyrics.
"I’m thrilled our program is running on the South Side because the demographic is where we really want to make an impact with our social justice curriculum," said Warsaw-Gazga, of Jefferson Park.
"Nearly all teens today listen to rap music, with messages that are not always positive," she said. "Today’s youth have very little knowledge of the cultural origins of R&B/Urban/Hip-Hop music, and its impact during the Civil Rights movement, with messages of black pride and the struggle for racial equality."
Warsaw-Gazga said there's usually a fee associated with the program, but she waived it after partnering with the "Communities in Schools of Chicago," which matches organizations that make an impact with schools in low-income neighborhoods.
At Langford, students have analyzed "Strange Fruit" sung by Billie Holiday, "Death of Emmett Till" by Bob Dylan among other older tunes. At the end of the program, students will create their own social justice multimedia project that includes songwriting and artwork.
Students like Dezerick Brown and Angel Pierce respectively said the program "takes us back to the day and brings it all back together" and "is a once-in-lifetime experience."
“This program keeps the kids really engaged in things that they like, and then through the music, it’s helping them learn things they didn’t know," eighth-grade teacher Tonya Hampton said.
Working as a record promoter with some of the world's biggest acts for 25 years — the Rolling Stones, Janet Jackson and more — Warsaw-Gazga saw firsthand how revolutionary music brought people together during difficult times.
She was a lover of music early on, and in the 1960s and '70s listened to rock and R&B music "with messages of peace, hope, equality and freedom" — something she said could teach students today valuable lessons.
Warsaw-Gazga's program has been at Stone Scholastic Academy in West Ridge for five years, and she is excited to see where it will expand to in the coming years.
"These kids, they don't get anything like this," Warsaw-Gazga said. "And we talk to them that they're the future and this is their time to step up."
