Urban Arts Enterprises

For a lot of people, the cultural phenomenon known as hip hop literally has a bad rap. The genre is negatively portrayed in most of the mainstream media. But for Battle Creek artist Remi Harrington, rap and hip hop provide the critical thinking platform she needs for her youth education program Urban Arts Enterprises. J.R. Reynolds reports:

Remi Harrington is an independent artist and specializes in painting and photography. She created Urban Arts Enterprises as a way of giving back to the community. The Battle Creek based program helps students from underserved neighborhoods examine social issues in their communities. Harrington uses the lyrics from socially conscious rap as a focal point in her lesson plans. Harrigton says her go-to song for analysis is Mobb Deep’s “Survival of the Fittest.”

[Remi Harrington] “So the lyrics on “Survival of the Fittest” go,

‘There's a war goin’ on outside, no man is safe from

You could run but you can't hide forever

from these, streets, that we done took

You walkin witcha’ head down scared to look

You shook, cause ain't no such things as halfway crooks

They never around when the beef cooks in my part of town

It's similar to Vietnam’”

Harrington says after she’s prepped students on what she’s looking for in terms of analysis, what follows is insightful, spirited conversation about how these lyrics relate to their communities.

[Remi Harrington] “I think that the kids find things that are relatable and then it becomes less of a fascination because of the hot beat but because of, wow, this is something that is—that resonates with me because I live this and I feel it, and it takes out the glorifying component of living a hood life when you recognize that there’s lack and there’s violence and there’s death and there’s destruction and there’s an alternative that and we can play a role in that.”

Harrington says hip-hop culture began, in part, as a way to talk about social injustices.

[Remi Harrington] “Hip-hop was a culture that was originally started, I feel, was started as a rebellion against the status quo and the kids that I work with, I think they needed something that is relevant to them so one of the first things I ask kids, ‘is everything cool?’ ‘Is the way that you’re living okay’ ‘What’s okay with it and what’s not?’  Through their answers, because of my deep study and fascination and I’m deeply engaged with hip-hop culture myself and I am hip-hop culture, and I’m able to identify those things in some the music I’ve listened to throughout the years.”

Harrington’s latest course is part of the Avail Project, a Calhoun County nonprofit that promotes and supports volunteerism. Harrington’s students work on community service projects to lean the value of giving back. Harrington says a lot of social issues today could be solved by filling basic human needs.

[Remi Harrington] “Our core physiological needs have to be met. That’s what we need. And so if people don’t have those things then they no longer act like people. And so, if there’s a social construct that is created that inhibits us from having our core physiological needs met here in the United States or anyplace else in the world, then what does that say? What does that say about us that perpetuates that live that? It’s a cyclical situation and there’s enough blame to go around.”

Harrington sees her program as a way to enlighten people about hip-hop culture.

[Remi Harrington] "The opportunity to give people the ability to understand hip-hop culture and not vilify it. You know? Nobody likes the misogyny, the death and destruction in hip hop culture – anybody with sense, anyway. That’s not cool. There’s something that’s underlying the culture…”

The Great Backyard Bird Count

Thousands of people around North America will join the annual Great Backyard Bird Count today. The four-day event uses observations by volunteers to keep track of bird populations each winter. Some Kalamazoo-area birdwatchers got an early start last weekend by attending a workshop at the Kellogg Bird Sanctuary near Gull Lake. WMUK’s Andy Robins was there:

The birds outside the Sanctuary’s visitor’s center neither know nor care that they’re about to be the subjects of intense human observation.

Inside the center’s auditorium, potential Backyard Bird Count volunteers listen to Sanctuary avian care intern Heather Kraus. She gives them some bird watching tips and advice about participating in the Count.

[Heather Kraus] “All you have to do is count birds for at least fifteen minutes on one of the four days the Bird Count is being held. You can do fifteen minutes or all day but the longer you do count the better representation you’ll probably get of the birds wherever you’re counting in that area…”

The checklist for southwest Michigan includes 127 species of birds that may be seen at this time of year – everything from cardinals and sparrows to the golden-crowned kinglet and the sharp-shinned hawk. But Kraus says not to worry.

[Heather Kraus] “It’s hard to identify species sometimes. But the Great Backyard Bird Count makes it really easy: if you don’t know a species you just don’t have to report it. So, that makes it nice for beginners. They don’t feel the pressure to have to identify every single species.”

Kraus even has a game to help volunteers figure out which birds they’re seeing.

[Heather Kraus] “There’s little bingo cards with each of the bird species that they have wearing around their necks. People will go and try to find the species they’re looking for to make a “bingo” and ask questions about each of the birds.”

[Andy Robins] “What happens when you win?”

[Heather Kraus] “Nothing, really. You just get rewarded with knowing more information about the birds (laughs).”

The Kellogg Bird Santuary’s Sarah Carroll says the Great Backyard Bird Count is a good example of “Citizen Science”:

[Sarah Carroll] “Yes, it’s perfect because it’s a way that mom and dad and their child can, while they’re eating breakfast in the morning, spend fifteen minutes and take a count. And it’s a way to get involved in some hardcore science work, but as a ‘citizen scientist’.”

Pat Leonard at the Cornell University Ornithology Lab agrees. The Lab is one of the co-sponsors of the Great Backyard Bird Count along with the Audubon Society and Bird Studies Canada. Leonard says the professionals need help from the amateurs to keep track of changes in bird populations across North America:

[Pat Leonard] “Certainly studying an organism like birds is difficult on a large scale because you can’t be everywhere. So, that’s why we need to harness all those eyes and ears of bird watchers out there so we can get this continental view of what birds are doing on this large scale over time.”

Among other things, Leonard says observations during the Backyard Bird Count help scientists monitor the health of the environment:

[Pat Leonard] “It’s sort of like an early warning device in terms of, over a period of time, you notice a decline in a particular species for five years, then it’s obvious something’s going on. And it’s not just a fluke because bird populations do change, do fluctuate on their own. So, it’s a way to keep tabs on something that’s pretty hard to monitor otherwise because it’s so spread out and there’s so many of them and so many different kinds of birds.”

[Heather Kraus] “If some bird comes in, then you’re gonna write down the bird you see and how many of that species you saw… You can look around here. Anything you see in this area you can put down as part of your bird count list.”

During last year’s Great Backyard Bird Count, more than 60,000 volunteers turned in over 90,000 checklists. Observers in Kalamazoo recorded 44 species of birds. The 2012 Backyard Bird Count starts today and runs through Monday.

Other Events:

The New Vic Theatre will be premiering the play “The Star Spangled Girl” tonight. The play is a spin-off of “The Odd Couple,” a love triangle mixed with politics.

If you would rather listen to some blues, the North Mississippi All Stars Duo is playing at the Acorn Theater in Three Oaks. The show starts at 8 p.m.

The art exhibit, “Caught in the Act” is opening Saturday at the Water Street Gallery in Douglas. Works from artists Brian Smith, Thimgan Hayden, and Anne Corlett will be on display.

The Dad/Daughter Valentine Dance will be at the Cityscape Event Center in Kalamazoo Saturday night. Come to the event at 6:30 p.m. dressed in semi-formal attire. Order your tickets early, because tickets will not be available at the door.

Wish you had something to do this Sunday? Come see Conspirator play at Bell’s Eccentric Café with Dr. Fameus at 8 p.m.. Their music is a mix of house, dub step, and electronica.