June 2007 — Detroit Summer is pleased to announce the completion of the first ever Live Arts Media Project, a CD entitled, Rising up from the Ashes: Chronicles of a Dropout.  Risng Up is a multi-media exploration of causes and solutions to the drop out crisis in Detroit.   This hip hop audio documentary features the talents and voices of Detroit youth and other advocates for visionary models of education.  To place an order for a LAMP CD, or to schedule a Live Arts Media Project workshop in your school or community center, contact Detroit Summer at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . You can also purchase the CD online at CD Baby: www.cdbaby.com/cd/dslamp

  Rising Up From the Ashes presents the problems which lead youth to drop out, including: student-teacher relationships, disrespect from peers and administrators, economic issues and problems at home, irrelevant curriculum and criminalization.  It also presents solutions such as: greater community involvement in schools, an emphasis on problem-solving and critical thinking in the classroom, curriculum focused around students own needs and ideas rather than societal expectations, peer juries in place of criminalizing practices and many more.  While the CD challenges the power structure that currently defines education, it consistently approaches issues from multiple student and adult perspectives.

  According to project coordinator, Jenny Lee,  “Youth media is a powerful thing.  So much is said about young people in the debates over the future of education in our city.  Rarely do policy-makers listen to what youth are saying, much less think to include them in any decision-making processes.  This CD breaks the silence treatment that has been given to youth voices in Detroit.”  

  Drawing from the rich culture of independent hip hop, spoken word and oral history in Detroit, this multi-media piece includes original raps, poems, peer-to-peer interviews and beats.  Youth producer Starlet Lee explains, “We interviewed other youth around Detroit and edited their responses into audio collages based on essential questions such as “how are you treated by teachers and administrators?”  Then we created poetry, songs, hip hop and visual art inspired by these tracks.”

  Nathan Walker, Cerveney Middle School teacher said, “I’m excited about the proposals this CD puts forward, but also about the model of youth-directed education it represents.  When I played the CD for my students it inspired them to make change because the CD was made by young people just like them.”

    Detroit Summer youth have been leading Live Arts Media Project workshops, or LAMPshops, using the CD to spark discussions around Detroit and the Midwest.  Starting in the fall of 07, they plan to take the workshops into Detroit Public Schools.  “This project inspired me to take the fate of my education into my own hands,” raved one Ypsilanti LAMPshop participant.  “It’s a really good catalyst for dialogue and visionary action.”
    
   Detroit Summer is a multi-racial, inter-generational collective, working to transform Detroit through creativity and critical thinking.  In addition to the Live Arts Media Project, they currently organize the monthly Breakin Bread Community Potluck Series.