Students from McKee and Curtis High Schools gathered on Tuesday to listen to original songs performed by their fellow classmates. NY1’s Jared Smith filed the following report.
Like many teenagers, Luis Bartelo uses hip hop to express himself.
The McKee High School sophomore has had a difficult upbringing, bouncing around to various foster homes for years before finally getting adopted.
He says he uses music as an escape. Now, with the help of the afterschool group Sundog Theater, Luis, along with some of his fellow students, have found an avenue to use their passion for music to inspire change.
"No matter how much negativity you have in your life there's always something good to pick out of it,” said Bartelo.
On Tuesday that good came in the form of a gun violence summit. Students from McKee and Curtis High School gathered to listen to original songs performed by their fellow classmates, all with the same theme.
"The whole point of it is to speak out against gun violence because it deeply affects every society," said Bartelo.
Earlier this month, 2 students were arrested for bringing loaded guns into Curtis.
The most important message the instructors hoped to get across is to use the student’s words and lyrics to inspire positive change in today's society.
"Hip hop is such a language for the kids, and sometimes it's violent, but many times it's not violent. So we're using the non-violent hip hop to get the message across to kids," said Sundog Theatre Executive Director Susan Fenley.
Councilwoman Debi Rose’s office sponsored the event as a kickoff to Gun Violence Awareness Month, which begins next week.
Similar events will be held throughout the city to reach even more youth.
"Sometimes people look at teenagers as not as aware as they are, but there's a lot going on inside of teenagers and they've got a lot of good thoughts and messages for the adults and their peers," said Fenley.
Using music inspire the next generation for a better future, one rhyme at a time.