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In Nick Heriford’s absence, President Elect Rebecca Bahar Cook didn’t hesitate for a second to seize the reins of power to conduct our weekly meeting. We responded to her leadership by dutifully reciting the 4 Way Test. Barb Whitney gave a creatively reflective reflection, reading a page from a book that held special meaning for her and many in the audience. We were so pleased to see John Dale Smith back from his Dewitt sabbatical and he didn’t disappoint. Today we sang The National Anthem. We had tables filled with guests and not much in the way of health of the club news. The new District Governor will be here on August 4 and many in our club will get Paul Harris Awards. Next up was Special Music. John Dale Smith first gave a history of when it all began. Back in the waning moments of the last century, we sang from tattered paperback Rotary Songbooks that were problematic in several respects: 1) the songs weren’t popular or famous tunes; (2) we couldn’t sing. So, Ken Beachler and John Dale Smith asked then President Ed McRee if it would be alright if they brought in some talent from local schools, plays, even Wharton Center performers to regale us with their craft. Ed, a master showman in his own right, of course said sure. A few old school Rotary traditionalists harumphed at the idea, but eventually, even they were won over by what has become a hallmark of Lansing Rotary. Live music. Unbeknownst to us all, Ken Beachler kept a log of each performance and rated them on a 5 point scale! I find this particularly hilarious! For today’s special music we enjoyed the vocal talent of Tricia Rogers from Owosso. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house when she finished singing “She Used to be Mine.” If I’d have been in a club hearing that rendition, I’d have dropped a double sawbuck in the tip jar. President Elect Rebecca Bahar Cook introduced our speaker of the day, Ozay Moore, the Executive Director of All of the Above Hip Hop Academy. I think this was the second  time our club enjoyed hip hop at a meeting (the first being when Hari Kern played Lose Yourself a few weeks ago). I loved Ozay’s opening, “We’re phat, we’re happy!” Ozay acknowledged that we’re on lands of the Anishinabe, Ojibway and Potawatomie people. He started his presentation with a QR code on the screen to see how hip Lansing Rotary was by asking for a single word to test our level of understanding of Hip Hop. Thankfully we passed the test! We’re hip enough to still be relevant! Hip Hop has its origins in the Bronx, NYC, 50 years ago this August. It has 5 recognized components, that are: DeeJaying, Breaking, Graphitti, Emceeing (Rap) and Knowledge. In a more literal sense, being hip in the 70’s was cool and the hop component related to action. Hip hop is a multi billion dollar industry, but it is also a creativity based pressure release valve for communities. All of the Above Hip Hop Academy taps into that creative need and provides a positive outlet with classes and workshops that are performance oriented. Ozay played Breath of the City, an anthem for Lansing video that will do a much better job than I ever could of showing what All of the Above is all about. You can see it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Go_1Xj6l_U4 Be patient with yourself. Listen to this several times to understand the lyrics and understand the complexity of what Hip Hop is and can be. All of the Above Hip Hop Academy will be “activating the space” that is Rotary Park on August 5, 2023. For more information, check out their website: https://www.alloftheabovehiphop.org/ Kevin Schumacher's email is: schumacher@glassenrhead.com |
Amber Paxton has worked for the City of Lansing for over 10 years as the first director of its Office of Financial Empowerment. The OFE is part of the Department of Neighborhoods Arts & Citizen Engagement, and oversees four programs for Lansing residents: The Lansing Financial Empowerment Center, which offers free one-on-one financial counseling; Lansing SAVE, a children's savings account for post-secondary education which auto-enrolls students at Kindergarten; Bank On Lansing, which seeks to assist the unbanked and underbanked in returning to the financial mainstream; and a wrap-around services program for returning citizens called OS Reentry.
