Teach the Beat!

Bringing the distinctive D.C. sound of go-go into the classroom.

Teaching for Change is honored to work with D.C.  area schools and the authors of The Beat! Go-Go Music from Washington, D.C. to develop lessons and share teaching ideas for infusing the history and music of go-go in middle and high school social studies, language arts, math, music, and/or D.C. history classes, and to bring renowned go-go performers into D.C. classrooms.

"Go-go has stayed true to time-honored cultural scripts such as live call-and-response, live instrumentation, as well as its locally rooted fashions, slang, dance, distribution and economic systems. Simply put: Go-Go never sold out. There is a grit and texture to the music that gives voice to the communities where it was created." –Natalie Hopkinson

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Contributors

CONTRIBUTORSDONATE

A HUGE shout out to Teaching for Change board member Nzinga Tull who asked her friends to donate to Teach the Beat to celebrate her birthday—#NzingaNewYear.

The Ben’s Chili Bowl Foundation is an annual donor to Teaching for Change for the Teach the Beat classroom visits, in honor of Chuck Brown.

Renee Alston
Ronald Anderson
Anonymous
Nasiba Abdul-Karim
Allison Acosta
Tracy Adams
Maisha Amen
Jeffrey Banks
Richard Bar
Phyllis Barts
Rhondee Benjamin-Johnson
Maia Blankenship
Aisha Bond
Rukiya Bonner
Michael and Kathryn Brauer
Braxton Educational Services and Training LLC (BEST, LLC)
Darryll Brooks
Marylin Brown
Tamera Brown
Rachelle Browne
Lisa Carlton and Kevin Waller
C.F. Masonry Specialists Inc.
Laura Chambers
Sa’id Chestnut
Steve Coleman
Clifton Cottom
Lydia Curtis
Walidah Dailey
Veronica Davis
Enid Doggett
Stephen Downing
Denise Evans
Ruthie Epstein
Steven Everette
Mia Foreman
Michael Gallagher
Alexandra Gelbard
Robert Gore
Byron Grayson
Clarence Henry
Atiya Hoye
Paulette Huckstep
Saleem Hylton
Aaron Jones
Charles Jones
Nandi Jones-Clement
Marc Bamuthi Joseph
Lauren Khouri
Julia Kirkendall
Omelika Kuumba

Dwayne Lee
Enid Lee
Alvin Lewis
Shantrelle Lewis
Gordon Linton
Christopher Lornell
Arden Lyles
Karyn Lynch
Kristine Malachi
Hatshepsitu Massey
Arthur McClung
Lisa McCurdy
Norris McDonald
Kevin McEwen
Mitchellville Florist Inc
Edna Moffitt
Nadirah Moreland
Anjali Nagpaul
Damon Patrick
Eugene Patterson
Ruby Peters
Kenya Pierre
David Poms
Linda Porter
Raymond Py
Deborah Robinson
John Rosenthal
Lawrence Sarjeant
Curtis Sharif
Maurice Shorter
Leonard Jason Small
Rosyletta Simms
Charles Stephenson
Diallo Sumbry
Nate Tamialis
Maceo Thomas
Rodwyn Tucker
Kimathi Tull
Mossi and Carmen Tull
Nzinga Tull
Ben's Chili Bowl Foundation
Washington Area Music Assoc, Inc
Uzill Weaver
Aaron Williams
Kimberly Williams
Lesley Williams-Blackwell
Kimara Whiseant
Ursula Wright
Lindsay Young


The D.C. Office of Cable TV, Film, Music and Entertainment (OCTFME) provided funding for Teach the Beat in 2021.

The DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities provided funding for Teach the Beat in 2013 and 2015.

We are forever grateful to Chuck Brown for his generous support of the Teach the Beat initiative. This project is inspired by the professional and personal contributions of Chuck Brown to Go-Go music in Washington, D.C. and is dedicated to the legacy he left for all of us. His incredible spirit is forever embodied in this work. 


The following people and performers contributed their time and skills to fundraisers and forums for Teach the Beat, such as: 
Intimate Evening with Chuck Brown at the Stephenson-Burrell home (1/26/2011)
Intimate Evening with Chuck Brown at the home of Steve and Sonya Coleman (9/15/2011)
Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum Seminars– (10/30/2010 and 7/9/2011)

Chuck Brown

Shuaib Mitchell

Juanita "Busy Bee" Britton

Sweet Cherie (Bela Dona & Chuck Brown Band)

Donnell Floyd (Familiar Faces)

Gregory "Sugar Bear" Elliot (EU)

Roy Battle (RE)

Blue Eyed Darrell (RE)

Anita Estell

Go Go Mickey Freeman (RE)

Gem In I

Maisha Rashad (Hip Huggers)

Stanley Cooper (76 Degrees West)

Ronald "Preacher" Roundtree

Carl "Big Brother CJ" Jones

Stacey Palmer

Walter McGill

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Website developed by Teaching for Change with support from
the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities.

Image credits: Thomas Sayers Ellis

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