DMS Jazz Band Shines at Black History Month Event

Not often does an event take place that contains three equally interesting story lines.

Recently, Mrs. Katie Cervone and the Jazz Band, performed a show in honor of Black History Month at the Salvation Army/Kroc Center in Boston.

In 1998, Mrs. Joan Kroc (wife of Ray Kroc, founder of McDonald's restaurants) donated $90 million dollars to the Salvation Army to build a community center in San Diego, California. Mrs. Kroc had a goal, to build a center where children and their families could share the arts and activites of people different from themselves. Mrs. Kroc was so pleased with the results, that when she passed away in 2003, she left $1.5 billion dollars to the Salvation Army - the single largest gift ever given to one charity at one time!

The Salvation Army has used the money to build, open and operate 18 additional Ray and Joan Kroc Community Centers throughout the country - with plans for eight more to be built over the next few years. The newly opened center at 650 Dudley St. in Boston took about two years and $115 million dollars to complete.

The story of Black History Month began in 1915. Carter G. Woodson founded an organization to research and promote the achievements of blacks in America. By 1926, the celebration lasted a week - by 1976 the country officially began to recognize each February as Black History Month. 

On this particular day, the Dedham Middle School Jazz Band was invited to perform for the community members at the Boston Kroc Center.

Thanks to a very  to cover the cost of transportation, band leader Katie Cervone and 25 students in grades six, seven, and eight were able to attend. The students, only playing together for the past few months, worked for hours before and after school to build a strong set of songs.

As the band was treated to a homemade catered lunch, Dr. Ulric Johnson, dean of Springfield College's Boston campus and
founder of Teens Advocating a Global Vision, gave his featured presentation. A noted speaker, Dr. Johnson called on the community to honor the often neglected accomplishments of Black Americans throughout history.

After their lunch break, the 25 DMS students returned to the stage for a well received second performance, before packing it all up and heading home.

The group from Dedham and community members from Dorchester and Roxbury got to share a bit of each others cultures and we're quite sure that Ray and Joan Kroc's vision of people coming together was fulfilled.