When HAI’s Executive Director Michael Jon Spencer approached me about a new student cultural initiative, I was filled with excitement as I thought back to when I took part in redesigning an ideal school for children. A facilitator asked a group of teachers, community organizers and parents involved in redesigning a Bronx elementary school, “What is one of your most memorable moments from elementary, junior high, or high school?” Each person answered in one of the following ways: “Having the lead role in the school play,” “Singing in the school chorus,” “Playing in the band,” and “Going to the theater with my class to see Porgy and Bess on Broadway.”

Theater, dance and music helped many of us see the possibilities in the world and provided unforgettable memories that had short- and long-term impact on our lives. Even those of us who did not work in the arts gained some type of catharsis or new viewpoint by participating in or observing live arts programs.

Today violence, drugs, and technology overwhelm our culture and have become the blueprint for how young people interact with others; we therefore need to reevaluate how and when we forgot to allow our children to be children; to fantasize and dream, to do imaginative, stimulating things; to appreciate the new and unfamiliar. We need to encourage them to recognize differences in others as something to celebrate, not despise. Media alone will never replace participatory live arts experiences for young and old alike.

In my own experience as a high school student, I had been part of a professional theater-training program and was thrilled to attend the theater. That experience led me on the path to using the arts as a medium for healing: I am a professional actress, folklorist (griot), drama therapist, arts administrator, and producer of children’s special events. The arts delivered me to a creative spirit that has no limits or barriers. Now, as the coordinator for HAI’s STEP program, I am proud to bring the cultural riches of our City to the Board of Education community.