Blues in the Schools?

It's February. It's the month that we set aside for celebrating the accomplishments and contributions of African Americans to the good ol' U. S. of A. It's a good time to be a blues musician who is also an educator.

Thanks to the Jefferson Center's INSPIRE program, I'm doing a few "Blues in the Schools" programs in area schools this month. It's been a few years since I've done this type of program. When I put it together I was struck again by the irony and difficulty of bringing blues to the schools.

The irony is that schools are full of young people -- kids, and blues is adult music. The difficulty is selecting songs and themes that are age appropriate. Kids are inundated at an early age with sexual and violent images; but are they really ready to hear me sing about candy men, easy ridin' papas, kindhearted women, deep sea divers, killin' my baby just to watch her fall, boozey booze and cocaine mamas? I don't think so!

But kids have problems, too. And the blues, if nothing else, teaches that in the face of heartbreak, violence, poverty, injustice or dependence, a creative response set to a I, IV V chord progression in a duple meter with a little humor added isn't the worst way you can react. Facing up to our nation's stumbles and shortcomings isn't a bad thing either. Black History month and the blues. Maybe it's not just for adults after all.

Photos by Anne Elise Thomas, Educational Programs Coordinator of the Inspire Program