By Taylor Bromante
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer
A rap beat with a heavy bass sound starts to play as a group of nearly 20 middle school boys start to rap and dance in front of a brick wall.
“Battle scars all through the town, they’re comin’ in, tryna’ shoot us down,” the boys sing. “You need to look at yourself, though. If you shoot your cousin, you’ll kill your woe (friend).”
The song is featured in the #BattleScars music video that was written and directed last summer by students at two Baltimore schools: City Springs Elementary/Middle and the Boys Latin School of Maryland.
The video grew out of a summer program run by the Middle Grades Partnership (MGP), a 10-year-old nonprofit organization that generates academic opportunities to middle school students in the city through public and private school partnerships in Baltimore. .
The program is offered each summer at 18 participating schools. This summer was the first time MGP partnered with Pens of Power, a 7-year-old Brooklyn-based nonprofit workshop program designed to increase critical thinking, character development and college career readiness through thesis and expository writing.
As part of the program, 6th through 9th grade students from City Springs, a charter school, and Boys Latin, an independent college-prep school, were asked to generate a project focusing on social justice. The 20 students created the video in five days.
Kel Spencer, the founder and mastermind behind Pens of Power, said the #BattleScars video is important because it prepares students for the real world by forcing them to write creatively and coherently.
The students started their brainstorm by combing through local newspapers to catch any prominent themes on social justice they could incorporate in the song.
They decided to focus on police brutality and write a song that encouraged a positive outlook in the wake of recent police shootings. They then formed the hashtag #BattleScars as the title.
“Pens of Power teaches what students can’t learn in the classroom,” Spencer said. “It teaches cultural awareness and prepares students for the real world, whether it be going to college or looking for a job.”
Spencer gives students the option of creating short films or music videos. #BattleScars is the eighth Pens of Power project.
“The students look at me and say, ‘How are we going to do all this in a week?’” Spencer said. “I enjoy seeing those eyebrows change from scrunched up and confused to raised and excited. Seeing those light bulbs go off is the best.”
Dr. Sonja Santelises, the chief executive officer of the Baltimore City schools, showed the video at the opening CEO principal’s conference where thousands of people were in attendance. She praised the students’ hard work and urged other commissioners to repost the video online.
“Having Dr. Santelises play it at a conference of that magnitude and opening the conference by saying, ‘This is how our kids feel, we have to listen,’ to me, is just the ultimate compliment,” said Kenji Jackson, the restorative practices co-facilitator at City Springs who was instrumental in bringing Pens of Power to Baltimore summer. He supervised the #BattleScars project with Spencer and appears in the music video.
The entire #BattleScars concept was envisioned and executed by the students themselves. The video has even brought some community members to tears.
“I have little kids in my building walking up to me almost every day reciting the lyrics and telling me how amazing the song is,” Jackson said.
The video provides commentary to the racism exhibited in cases of police brutality.
“The black man is the target now, kids ain’t got no father now,” the song says. Other powerful lyrics in the video are, “Come together, get together, protest for a reason;: and “strategize, harmonize, on us it’s open season.”
The climax of the video shows an imitation of a white police officer arresting a young black man, leading to his prosecution in court. The video then ends with an uplifting message.
“Can positivity happen in the hood? YES! Can we turn our Battle scars into good? YES! More fathers means more hugs, more hugs leads to no drugs. No drugs leads to no thugs, society filled with love,” the song states.
While the video might represent a harsh reality, the students demonstrated progressive attitudes.
“They were given a platform where they could say how they felt without being restricted and it brought out the best in them,” Jackson said. “I want to see kids become active and to understand that they have a voice.”
The Middle Grades Partnership summer program is geared to improve students’ scholastic aptitude and other life skills. Activities include gardening, cooking, urban planning, brainstorming app ideas and more.
“(The students) get a sense of self,” said Stephanie Felton, MGP’s director of development. “You’ve got to give them the opportunity to rise to the occasion. They want to and they work hard…We just give them a place to hone in on the potential.”
MGP plans on bringing Spencer and Pens of Power back for another summer.
“If you don’t engage them in ways that are positive and meaningful to them, you’ll lose them,” said Wendy Samet, the executive director of MGP. “Keeping them engaged, keeping them feeling valued is really important to giving them a great education.”
According to MGP staff, 96 percent of the 400 students who participated in MGP went to top high schools in Baltimore this year. MGP staff strives to enroll 750 students in the program next summer.
“These kids are really getting to deconstruct some key issues,” said Larry Walker, MGP program manager. “It’s empowering them to look at those social issues and then do something about it.”
The students first premiered the #BattleScars video at the Baltimore City Board of Education meeting on Sept. 13 and received endless compliments.
“We want to set good examples,” said Jamal Canady Jr., a ninth grader at City Springs who stars in the video. “This video really represents how we feel.”
The Battlescars music video has been on YouTube for roughly two months and has reached over 2,000 views. Its creators hope to see the video reach people across the country with the help of commissioners and community members sharing it on social media.
“Oh yeah, and we want to take this to the White House,” Jamal said.