Reflections on the Four Principles of Social Justice through Music and Spoken Word YouTube Premiere

P.A.R.E. – (P)articipation. (A)ccess.  (R)ights.  (E)quity.

Reflections on the Four Principles of Social Justice through Music and Spoken Word

YouTube Premiere: Sunday, February 21, 2021, at 4:00 p.m.

Featuring MxCC CEO Steven Minkler with family, friends, MxCC students and faculty, students and faculty from the UConn School of Dental Medicine, and alumni from Western Connecticut State University.

P.A.R.E. is an artistic collaboration reflecting on how systemic racism and injustice continue to impact the lives of people of color. Our intent is to share the belief that love and unity have immeasurable power for good, and to spread that message to friends in the educational, spiritual, and general communities. P.A.R.E. is a means for people to express themselves through performing arts – a recorded event consisting of musical pieces, spoken word, 6-word memoir tributes, and personal testimony.

Music and poetry serve as tools to educate and touch others as well as for people to define themselves and their culture. The arts allow people to express themselves through performance and participation as listeners and viewers. Performing and listening to music and poetry is a great opportunity for people to learn about one another and experience different cultures firsthand as reflections of the society and culture in which they are created.

During Black History Month 2021, this collection of musical pieces, sharing of spoken word, and perspectives will be released and an invitation to listen, reflect and share is extended as just a starting point. Our hope is that we can continue to offer this venue as a way to reflect on what we can do better and can continue to share more in the future. We shouldn’t focus on the things that make us different, but focus on things that draw us together.

We hope this program offers you a time to reflect and think through the power of song and spoken word. And to join us in the joy of presenting this to you.

Participating Musicians:

Chris Carrington (drums), Kevin Carrington (bass), Itamar Gov-Ari (guitar), Rosemary Minkler (piano), Steve Minkler (bass and piano), Gregory Sneed (tenor saxophone), Alan Lurie (piano), and vocalists Frank Amaefuna, Kenji Bolden, Samantha Feliciano, Fernanda Franco, and Touré Richardson.