Students Celebrate Culture 'From West Africa to Hip Hop'

Students from laughed, learned and boogied to the beat Tuesday morning as they welcomed a performance from the DC-based group, DishiBem.

The performance, called "From West Africa to Hip Hop" featured drumming, dancing and story-telling.

It was through the efforts and fundraising of the school PTA and its Cultural Arts Committee that the performance was made possible. Cultural Arts Chair Heather Macintosh said the program, which receives some funding through grants from the Anne Arundel Arts Council and the Maryland State Arts Council is a "beautiful friendship between the arts community and the school system."

Most importantly, the students got a hands-on look at African Culture.

Jabari Exum, one of the performers said, "The goal is to show them that the African value system permeates our whole lives."

Students learned about proverbs, named the different countries in West Africa, sang about the different animals that live in Africa and learned about the evolution of Jazz music.

They learned that "Mama" and "Baba" are terms for respect.

"I treat my parents and my teachers with the same respect," the students chanted.

But for 8-year-old Katy Marcotte, the best part was “when the teachers went up to dance.”

The students were taught that a big part of African culture is to lead by example, so after the students got to go onstage and learn a new dance, the teachers did too.

The kids congratulated their teachers afterwards with “thumbs up” signs and shouts of “you did great.”

Principal Sue Myers said the performance was an introduction to the school's celebration of Black History Month. She said it’s one thing for the children to read about different cultures but to actually be able to watch and participate in the performance was a hands-on way to teach them about different cultures.

“It’s really just bringing, I think what they read about and maybe hear about, bringing it alive,” she said.

After the performance, Exum said the school has a great bunch of children and teachers with open minds. He said they normally don’t get 95 percent of the teachers coming up on stage to dance.

Editor's Note: Heather Macintosh is a contributor for Patch.