They’re making music — and history — in a legendary Southwest Washington house | Education - Washington Post

Laurel Demkovich, cops and courts reporter for the local desk summarizes, Living Classrooms opens a new community center in Buzzard Point.
 

Deanna Hawkins, D.C. music program coordinator for Living Classrooms, left, works with Samaria Edwards, 15, in the organization’s new community center in a historic house in Southwest Washington.
Photo: Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post

In the basement of the newly renovated community center, 9-year-old Akeylah Edwards takes a seat in front of her computer and a small piano keyboard. Hanging on the wall next to her is a large red and pink painting with stickers reading “Girl Power” and “Talented.”

“Okay, everyone, create a track using four genres,” Deanna Hawkins instructs four students. “Use something you’ve never even heard of.”

Akeylah opens the music creation program GarageBand, creates a file and goes to work. She was making music — and history — in an old building with a new mission. That building is part of Living Classrooms, a nonprofit that aims to educate by doing and that recently moved into a new community center in Southwest Washington.

Akeylah, along with her two sisters, has only been learning music production since Living Classrooms’ summer camp started in late July, but she knows exactly what she’s doing...

Last year, Hawkins went to two D.C. schools twice a week to help run BeatZone. This year, she will keep making her way to schools while teaching at the Dent House. At the beginning of the school year, Hawkins asks her students to think of topics for songs they could write. She wants to know: What bothers you about your community? What’s the most important thing in your community right now?

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Source: Washington Post