tt2w>rxlh `:l#*0`:xb0 karen: today on "cityline," the arts and hip-hop. karen: hello, everyone. i' m karen holmes ward. welcome to "cityline. from school systems across the country to the national endowments for the arts, it has been proven time and again that arts are vital to providing a well-rounded education. statewide budget cuts, especially in low income

learning gap that diminishes learning opportunities for those who need it most. how can students benefit from creative programming inside and outside of schools? >> what do we dream? what is our goals? what are our aspirations as young people? >> what is my voice? karen: nationwide, arts programs in the public schools are suffering. is boston any different? >> i don' t think the public schools are doing enough. karen: use lack opportunity -- youth lack opportunity, escalating the self-destructive behaviors. >> if they did more for the arts , a lot of the students in urban areas would benefit from them. we would not have as much teenage the. the whole identity issue would be a little more under control. karen: many feel that the boston

on standard academic curriculum, encourage creativity. more arts. during up to access it in their out of school time. karen: educators believe a well-rounded student should be exposed to creative lesson plans , as well as academic ones. everyone' s life. you may not see it and acknowledge it as the arts, but they are a part of everything that happens daily. it is a space that is theirs. is a strong proponent for the arts within the confines of school walls. students to speak about who they are and to engage in conversations about things that are important to them. there is no right way for your build out that creative space

karen: parker brass asserts that a high-quality arts education can serve an interdisciplinary part as well. >> my job is to have that strategic vision as to how the arts are core content. arts make a history lesson richer. arts provide a different space for writing and speaking. it makes all of those subjects come alive. karen: thanks to a $100,000 grant, this has become a reality for the boston public schools. according to a vps report, the number of boston high school students with access to any arts 57%. that is a gain of 31% since 2009. learning that happens in the schools with our partners and our organizations. we want to make sure every student has elective opportunities.

fosters strong connections and neighborhood arts programs. are organizations already working with our young to really build in that space of learning and assessment and to drill down on skills. karen: one of these organizations, the urbano outlet outside of school. they have an artist studio that is constantly filled with new walls. they welcome a diverse set of teens, reaching out to all public high school students. >> urbanos brings urban teens never meet. different together. karen: education and program manager notes that what is just you love is getting paid to do

artists for working on projects with us. that is a way to really feel like being an artist and something that they can think about is a job opportunity. karen: the founder and artistic director believes that one of the most important skills taught at urbano is critical thinking. >> they are learning how to tell stories come out to document, how to write, how to start a project from the idea phase to the whole development and whw at i takes to translate an idea. tkaren: urbano caters to the students' diverse backgrounds and letting them express the concerns that exist in their lives and communities. >> we all know what has been going on with communities of color in general for many years. right now, specifically, there

to give light to what our communities are experiencing. karen: urbano students are realizing the power they can yield a civic leaders. >> i get to see my friends and they get to work with them on things i care about and they care about. we can have intellectual discussions on different issues of gentrification or rape culture or police brutality. if anything matters the most, i am the next generation. i' m going to be living within a newer, bigger society. i will be making decisions that impact my community. i don' t feel like him being shut down or closed out by the adults around me. it is other students who go through the same things every day. karen: stella finds fulfillment as a mentor at urbano, where justice and art come together. >> i love working with teens .

to be leading us area they are compassionate, they care, they want to change the world for the better, and they are creative about how to do it. i think education and art and civic engagement are a great combination. karen: if you have a teen that is interested in the urbano project, you can learn more on our page at wcvb.com.

karen: welcome back. body image and self-esteem. four young girls of color, this can become more complicated with

one roxbury organization gets the picture and is helping these girls flourish through art. one local rapper takes adversity and uses it to her advantage. karen: since 1966, the mets diversify schools around the program -- region. their objectives remain a challenging one as racial disparity in some suburban communities cause misunderstandings. young girls of color are especially affected. >> i go to middle school and people are being rude to me sometimes in the hallways and talking to me being mean. >> the issues we had to face are the same issues, the bullying, the body image, self-awareness. >> they are connected. the bullying and the racism is connected.

inequality gap, but the circumstances that caused an alarming identity crisis. >> hard work. nice one. karen: speakers of knowledge is in afterschool program that enables the social development to uplift spirits, debunks. types -- debunk stereotypes, and embrace self-worth. can' t." i feel that you can do anything in this world if you put your heart and mind to it and if you focus. karen: most of the girls come from low income families. parents might struggle to make ends meet, spending less time at home, so they may not have the luxury of time to engage with their daughters and learn about what is going on in their lives. >> they don' t share it with their parents at home. we started talking about a lot of things that are going on in society now with racism. one of the girls was telling me

dealing with at school and i said, did you speak to your counselor or is there anyone you can talk to? she said, i' m afraid. once she opened that door, i stepped right in. karen: cynthia gaines, the founder and director, believes that her efforts can only go so far. >> a lot of them deal with things at home that i have no control over and the things that i can' t control, those are the ones that they get lost in the system. adversity with sisterhood. t speak, she don' t talk, we are trying to get her to do things, she don' t know how to socialize, when she comes to speakers, i tell the girls we are all one family. each other and the look out for karen: the board president harold' s cynthia for believing in the potential of these

sympathizing with their hardship , and staying dedicated to the cause. >> she will sit down and talk them through the problems, you know, and by the end of the day everything is back to normal. karen: their strongest tool is finding strength through an artistic approach. >> i want the girls to have confidence and i use the arts to let them know that they are powerful. we allow the girls to use their creative techniques, their creative voices and at their input into the program. karen: speakers has a thriving dance component, which facilitates the activity and self-discovery. express themselves. some of the different dances may be really like and very happy-go-lucky dances. then they also pull together and

karen: the girls are granted creative control over all performances. >> they are at home doing these routines, making it up themselves. a lot of times, it is dealing with issues they are dealing with. >> one of the dances they performed, the story was about an accident and someone lost a friend or a family member. this may have been something that one of the girls was going through and that was the idea. karen: the performing arts can have therapeutic benefits as youth rely on movement to convey emotion. >> sometimes, the girls are not able to explain to people, me, or or parents what is going on,

song and you give it to them, it it. talkers, but to express it karen: jane has witnessed progress in her own daughter, culture that speakers have provided. >> i have seen them blossom. not only just in dance, but also

to her diversity she embraced. >> you appreciated. everyone has a common history. being able to dive into the thing. karen: for dutch, finding meaning through the arts has infinite emotional benefit. >> it definitely is a therapy because it triggers memory, it triggers mood. creating music or creating art,

do things you did not realize were there. it makes you feel more confident about what you are feeling and how you are feeling. karen: up next , he calls himself a man of the world. t pick and choose world. choose, choose, choose. t but at bedtime? ...why settle for this? p lowest prices of the season, sleepiq technology tells youp

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america's number one source for news, weather and information. on every screen in your life. r we are broadcasters, always here for you, wherever here may be. text "tv" to 52886. tell washington local stations matter. karen: welcome back. born in kenya of ugandan dissent and raised in canada, pastel attributes his eclectic sound to his worldly perspective. as a former student at northeastern and founder and producer of has to lifestyle

and beats was inspired by his unique upbringing. pastel joins us now. how are you? >> fantastic, thank you. karen: we are talking about parts being integral in developing someone' s personality and identity. let' s start by how you were raised in canada and what adversity, if any, did you face? pastel: i moved from uganda to canada. in canada, i was raised in a 30,000 people. it was very hard for me to kind of figure out who i was. i was literally one of 30,000. there were instances in which i tried to assimilate, it was evident that i was an outsider, i touch your hair?

for our skin color and things like that. it took me literally until coming here to truly figure out who i was. karen: how did that make you feel as a young person? when you have these thoughts going through your mind facing some of these issues? pastel: you feel very lonely. it is very difficult to be solely by yourself. by yourself and to not reall y realize what big of a shift in it. from being around people that were exactly like me, spoke the same language, and then thrown into a place where no one looks speak smiling which. it was a delay in my development as a human being during that time. karen: now, you come to boston.

at age 15. that headache -- that have a different kind of impact on your development. pastel: yes, it was another direct shift. i went from living in white suburbia and then i moved to dorchester, which is pretty much the exact opposite. , because i did not walk and talk like the community that i was now immersed in, i was labeled the white black kid. again, feeling that same feeling of when i made that first shift from canada, i just kind of i stayed in the house. music that way. i wanted something that i could my parents always put me in music.

the age of six and i always had an affinity for poetry. i brought those two together and that i am on now as an artist. karen: elaborate on the idea that you put forth that arts and music is a universal human connection. pastel: yes. the first form of acceptance that i felt in boston for literally about two years i lived here and i did not know anybody, i went in my room, i made my music, i went to an open mic when i was 16 and i performed one of my songs and i got off stage and everyone that i walked fast said, good job, that was awesome, that was incredible. it was the first form of acceptance that i had felt here for two years of living here. it warmed my heart and really made me realize that that was my

it was a universal language that could connect me to the community i was now in. karen: once you had that moment of discovery, what happened after that? pastel: from their, it enveloped. it really immersed me. i met wonderful people. i have met incredible friends that i have had for years now through music. through that, i was able to find who i was. voice. and figuratively. pastel: yes. a tremendous force. especially having worked at it for the last 10 years now. the identity that i had to figure out and how -- you know, the two years i spent writing and really figuring out the direction i wanted to go and how i wanted to present myself, i

that fourth into the world. i can have these wonderful conversations with people that hear my music. karen: that is great. tell us what you are doing now. you are a practicing artist and producer. tell us about your company and how you continue to spread the message. pastel: my company is pastel lifestyle. i went to school for four years to study the music industry. what i want to do with my company and what i do is i want to help those that have found a voice be creative to take that to the next level. to actually make it a living. t have that ability. i have been lucky enough to have the position where i have both. i want to impart that upon the community that really nourished who i am and helped me grow and today.

the arts as a key to finding fulfillment. absolutely. i would not be the person i am and i would not be where i am headed not been for me being life. today to share your story. and good luck to you. pastel: thank you. karen: we look forward to hearing more from you in the future. pastel: thank you. karen: the shorter learn more we featured on today' s program at wcvb.com. thanks for watching, everyone. take care. [captioning performed by the which is responsible for its