Songmasters is operationalizing a music-driven, cross curricular educational and civic engagement program for adolescents. Planning grants from the Ford Foundation’s Social Justice and the Arts, Media and Culture Departments allowed Songmasters to develop the “bones” of the project. The focus of this program now will be to frame the story of The American Road- defined by this program as balancing individual rights and common responsibility, by tying music that defines 20th century American Social History to instruction and activities adaptable to currently required standards and subjects in Grades 7-10. These in-school activities will be linked to volunteer opportunities and youth leadership programs around the nation. Our planning advisors and partners include the Smithsonian, the ACLU, the ADL, the Southern Poverty Law Center, and other prominent organizations along with over 60 individual leaders covering the full spectrum of the worlds of education, entertainment and civil society.
