Dr. Feldman's English 4 students who performed the winning entry in the Maltz Museum's Sing Out contest. Back row: Brandon Parks-Hayes, Jahquan Primm, Maurice Powers, Micheal Ware, Gicari Tillman, Kyree Hunt and Artemus Watts, (L-R.) Front row: Sydnee Peterson, Erin Washington, Datara White, Dayvionne Griggs, Dasha Garner and De'Andre Dabney-Fields, (L-R.)
April 26, 2016 -- On April 21, seniors in Donna Feldman’s English 4 classes performed their first place-winning song for the Youth Sing Out competition, sponsored by the Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage.
The contest guidelines called for a song that featured the theme of diversity and tolerance.
The performance competition was held at the Bohemian National Hall in Cleveland. Datara White and Maurice Powers led the chorus, while Michael Ware, Dayvionne Briggs, and De'Andre Dabney-Fields each rapped a verse. Dasha Garner, Kyree Hunt, Brandon Parks-Hayes, Sydnee Peterson, Jahquan Primm, Gicari Tillman, Erin Washington, and Artemus Watts joined in for the chorus.
The group won $5,000 for anti-bias education at the school. According to Dr. Feldman, the money will be used to bring in guest speaker Calvin Terrell, who provides education to enhance human interactions and global progress.
Photo credit: Anthony Gray
He has lectured, trained, and lead comprehensive workshops for valuing diversity, equity, and justice building in schools, corporations, and civic organizations.
The song was recorded in November 2015 after four songwriting workshops hosted by Roots of American Music.
The Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage sponsors the competition and provided a grant that funded a visit to the Maltz Museum and the song writing workshops.
The winning schools were as follows:
1st Place High School: “Can Anybody Hear Me?” Cleveland Heights High School ($5,000)
Runner-Up High School: “New Perspective” Midview High School
1st Place Middle School: “Issues Today” Newton D. Baker School of Arts ($5,000)
Read the lyrics to "Can Anybody Hear Me?"
CHORUS:
Can anybody hear me?
I see tears running down a child’s face (X2)
Stand up-speak out
Let’s make the world a better place.
Genocide, spiritually dead inside.
I’m calling out, but can anyone hear me cry?
Life is meant to be a gift, but it’s more like a curse.
That is why I’m here rapping this verse.
So I can try to stop the bullets before they disperse.
Cause every single day, it’s just another victim,
I’m not talking Windows when I tell you it’s a faulty system.
CHORUS
It used to be Hitler and his Aryan race.
Now it’s woman in India with burns on her face.
Mother and father losing their babies, whose voices make changes
SPEAK UP
Somebody tell me what’s wrong with the world?
Yesterday strange fruit hanging from a cottonwood
Today’s strange fruit getting shot in the hood
We’re killing our own kind saying “It’s all good”
But really, we need another where MLK stood.
CHORUS
Families and friends meeting one last time
Except there’s no one talking, this just one more crime
That nobody looks to say what’s wrong
Well that’s the whole reason we’re writing this song.
YOU GOTTA LISTEN
Our skin, our clothes, our hair, whatever
Our race, our religion, it don’t matter in heaven
There’s a shooter in my school interrupting my lesson
Just hold on one more second while I pray for a blessing
Where’s my BLESSING?
CHORUS