Langdon ES Fifth Graders Learn About Go-Go
By Talia Brock
On February 12, 2020, go-go artist “Sweet” Cherie Mitchell visited Langdon Elementary School in connection with Teaching for Change’s Teach the Beat program. This is the second year that the program has been able to visit Langdon, a partner in Teaching for Change’s Tellin Stories parent engagement project.
This year the 5th grade students were in for a treat. Sweet Cherie came to talk with students about the history of go-go and play some music with them as well.
Cherie started by telling the students a little bit about herself and her career performing with “the godfather of go-go”, Chuck Brown, and the all-female group Be’la Dona Band. She broke down some of the main elements of go-go music: the typical go-go beat, the syncopated rhythm (or the “off-beat”), and the “talker” (who leads the call and response and energizes the crowd).
Students drummed out the rhythm on buckets while Cherie played the off-beat and led the group in some examples of call and response. As all the pieces of the music started to come together, Cherie invited some students up to sing and dance to Backyard Band’s version of “Hello.” Even 5th grade teacher Perea Blackmon and school principal Kemi Husbands danced along!
Toward the end, students asked Cherie questions about her favorite bands, how she became interested in performing go-go music, and her favorite places that she’s traveled to on tour.
She talked with the students about how important it was for her to stay committed to her piano lessons when she was growing up. Practicing consistently was hard work, but it was worth it. Even though she feels happiest when she’s playing go-go music, if she hadn’t kept up with her classical music lessons as a child, she might not have developed enough skill to cross over into other genres as an adult. The students listened attentively, and nearly every student had their hand raised, hoping to have a question answered. Cherie was so impressed with the students’ energy, and said that they were the liveliest group she’d ever worked with. Cherie’s visit made such an impression on the students that one student even doubled back as Cherie was leaving to ask her one more question.
At the conclusion of Cherie’s visit to Langdon, she posed for a traditional go-go photo with two Langdon staff members in front of the display - it was a fitting end to a great visit.
Parent Engagement
Part of Langdon’s partnership with Teaching for Change involves holding monthly meetings with parents, called Principal Chat n’ Chews. Organizers from Teaching for Change’s Tellin’ Stories project work with Principal Husbands to design meetings that are open to all parents and caregivers, prioritize the voices of marginalized parents and build a stronger school community.
At the January chat n’ chew, parents participated in an icebreaker where they were asked to consider:
What does go-go music mean to you?
Parents responded to this question with so much enthusiasm that the chat n’ chew went over-time! Some examples of their responses include
“it’s a lifestyle,”
“it means to be alive”
“it’s a culture, a movement”
“it gives a native Washingtonian a sense of pride in their city.”
They listed their favorite bands, such as Rare Essence, Be’la Dona, Junkyard Band and New Impressions, and talked about going to go-go parties when they were growing up. Following this meeting, the parents’ responses were displayed under a banner that read “Langdon loves go-go!”
Special thanks to the Horning Family Fund whose generous donation for the Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action made this visit possible.