September 23: Ju Ju at Randle Elementary School

Fifth graders at Randle Highlands Elementary School enjoyed a hands-on go-go workshop taught by legendary drummer, William ‘Ju Ju’ House.

With Ju Ju’s guidance, students excitedly took to the assorted drums, tambourines, and other percussion instruments and played basic go-go beats to the delight of their classmates, teachers, and Ju Ju himself. Vocalist Staci Payne (currently of Be’la Dona) also joined the session, and the visit quickly became a boisterous ‘in-the-pocket’ battle between the boys and the girls. 

After the battle (which included a rousing rendition of Adele’s/Back Yard Band’s “Hello”), Ju Ju taught the young Washingtonians the history of go-go, and shared a picture from his phone of a photo of himself and other go-go legends in the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Everyone was invited to see him perform during the Museum’s opening festival that weekend.

September 22: Sweet Cherie at Charles Hart Middle School

Go-go performer Sweet Cherie led a Teach the Beat workshop with approximately 60 sixth through eighth graders in Ms. Pierce’s music classes at Charles Hart Middle School. She began the workshop by asking what the students knew about go-go already and telling the students about the history of go-go music. 

Cherie taught the students the base go-go beat and explained the roles of various band members in a go-go band, including the “talker.” She then led the students in call and response, including “Sardines and Pork ‘n Beans” and calling out student’s names and neighborhoods. Students then joined Cherie at the piano, where they played beats and sang along while she played Backyard Band’s version of “Hello,” a go-go version of Rihanna’s “Work,” and more. After the class, students crowded around Cherie for autographs.

June 8: John "JB" Buchanan at Duke Ellington School of the Arts

Go-go legend Mr. John "JB" Buchanan worked with Mr. Davey Yarborough's students on June 8, 2016 at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts as part of the Teach the Beat program funded by DCPS and coordinated by Teaching for Change. The school was in swing space during renovation at the old Meyer Elementary School. JB began by expressing his respect for the students who take a 7AM class. He explained the origins of go-go and then taught a go-go variation of All Blues by Miles Davis. This video clip shows JB working with the students, followed by their reflections on the visit.

June 7: Sweet Cherie at Patterson Elementary School

Go-go performer Sweet Cherie led a Teach the Beat workshop with preschoolers in Ms. Lester’s class at Patterson Elementary School. She began the workshop by asking the children how much they knew about go-go music and talking to them about Chuck Brown and the origins of go-go music. Sweet Cherie passed out drums, tambourines, cowbells, and maracas to the students. Excited, they immediately began to play their instruments.

Sweet Cherie did call and response exercises with the students and played the song “Sardines and Pork ‘n Beans” with them. She taught them about the role of the “talker” and the importance of drums in go-go music. One young girl had such a great sense of rhythm that Sweet Cherie would always call on her for the base beat. Many students took turns on the keyboard, some expressing that they wanted one for themselves.

To their delight, Sweet Cherie played the Nae-Nae song on her keyboard for the preschoolers and they danced and continued to play their instruments. The students happily exclaimed “Thank you for the music!” at the end of the session. They all said that they wanted her to come back and do more sessions with them. The visit was funded by the office of the Chief of the Schools of DCPS.

June 2: Ju Ju at Phelps Architecture, Construction, and Engineering High School

Marching Band Students at Phelps Architecture, Construction and Engineering High School (Phelps ACE) in northeast DC were incredibly grateful to have legendary go-go drummer Ju Ju House facilitate a rhythm workshop for them after school on June 2. Music teacher Andrew Green requested Ju Ju because of his expertise and ability to “help his students take their performance skills to the next level.” Specifically, he was hoping Ju Ju could teach the students how to separate the rhythms of Bounce Beats and Pocket Beats to different parts of the drumline.

Ju Ju did just that and so much more. After an introduction of himself and his generational history with music and go-go, he immediately launched into the lessons. He first listened to the songs the band played during the recent Emancipation Day parade in D.C. From there he worked with the students to understand how to improvise and enhance their part with bounce, pocket, and go-go beats. Through consistent affirmation of their hard work and talent, he worked with students individually, in sections, and with the entire band. From the guitar and congas to the keyboard and brass instruments, Ju Ju helped them to understand how it all comes together with the percussion and traps holding the beat. He held them accountable and assessed their understanding through a demonstration of the different beats. These focused students were up to the challenge and impressed Ju Ju with their skills.

Finally, through a series of questions and conversations, Ju Ju and the students improvised and created their own tune—a mix of go-go, funk, and reggae—that the students decided to call “Ju Ju-Phelps Beat.” They promised to fine tune it and perform it if Ju Ju promised to come back and jam with them. He happily agreed. The visit was funded by Office of the Chief of Schools of DCPS.

June 1: Sugar Bear at Ballou High School

Sugar Bear, a graduate of Ballou, visited the new Ballou High School building for the first time to the delight of the music students in Mr. Watson’s class. When entering the building, staff members shouted “Sugar Bear”! When he entered the classroom, he was greeted with a round of applause from students. After sharing some history of go-go, Sugar Bear said, “Lets jam.” Students jumped up and got their instruments. Over the next hour, Sugar Bar played various tunes with the class. When a new tune was introduced, Mr. Watson and Sugar Bear coached students on how to play it. The visit was funded by Office of the Chief of Schools of DCPS.

May 31: Sweet Cherie at Johnson Middle School

Sweet Cherie did a go-go workshop with 6th-grade students at Johnson Middle School. The students entered the library excited to meet Sweet Cherie. Students were asked if they had been to a go-go before. One student shared how his older brother had taken him to a go-g0 and that he loved the experience. After describing her own history with go-go, Sweet Cherie asked the students to make some go-go beats on the tables. 

Students kept the beat while Sweet Cherie played some popular songs on her keyboard. At one point, a student goes up and began to sing along to the surprise and delight of his classmates. Another student played a song on Sweet Cherie’s keyboard while she backed him up with a go-go beat. The visit was funded by Office of the Chief of Schools of DCPS.

May 27: Ju Ju at Capitol Hill Montessori at Logan

Third-grade students in Mr. Strother’s music class at Capitol Hill Montessori at Logan (DCPS) got a special treat on May 27, when go-go legend Ju Ju came to give a lesson. Ju Ju asked the students about their favorite musicians, then coached the students as teams of four on the rototoms, conga, cowbell, and tambourine. Students competed to see who had the tightest band and quickly discovered that in order to succeed, they needed to listen to each other and work together as a team. Ju Ju had the students copy his beats in their seats and in front of the class. The visit was funded by Office of the Chief of Schools of DCPS.

May 20: Ju Ju at Houston Elementary School

The young students who participate in Mr. Wood’s drumline at Houston Elementary School in Ward 7 got a special visit on May 20 from renowned go-go drummer Ju Ju House. Ju Ju started the visit by gathering the students together to talk about their favorite musicians. Students saw pictures of Ju Ju, Chuck Brown, and other go-go performers in magazines. They clapped along to a go-go beat and belted out the chorus to go-go classic “Sardines.”

Then students got their drums and Ju Ju gave them a got a drumline lesson. He showed the bass drummers and then the snare drummers a go-go beat, then focused on drumline basics. The visit was funded by Office of the Chief of Schools of DCPS.

May 20: Sweet Cherie at Simon Elementary School

Fourth graders in Ms. Shanklin’s music class at Simon Elementary School (DCPS) hosted a Teach the Beat workshop with go-go performer Sweet Cherie. All of the students participated, learned, and enjoyed.

Sweet Cherie opened with a talk about the history and culture of go-go. Then she invited students to play go-go music with her. The teacher had instruments ready, calling students up in small groups by their birth months to select from the drums, tambourines, cowbells, and maracas. While playing songs such as “Sardines and Pork ‘n Beans,” Sweet Cherie wove in lessons about the go-go beat, call-and-response, and the role of the keyboard player.

Many of the students (including the drummer pictured below) are part of the school’s drum line. The Be’la Dona performers noted that the young girl (pictured below to the right) could be a future lead singer in their band. The visit was funded by Office of the Chief of Schools of DCPS.

May 11: Sweet Cherie, John Buchanan, Sugar Bear, Natalie Hopkinson, and Ju Ju at Sidwell Friends School

On May 11, Cherie “Sweet Cherie” Mitchell-Agurs, Gregory “Sugar Bear” Elliott, John Buchanan, William “Ju Ju” House, and Natalie Hopkinson visited Sidwell Friends School to give students a sense of the rich history of go-go in the D.C. area, its roots as an art form, and its evolution over the years. The school wanted students to learn about go-go in advance of the go-go dance that weekend, a decades-long annual tradition.

Teaching for Change and the performers offered two classroom workshops followed by a presentation in the weekly all-school assembly. 

One of the workshops engaged students in our meet and greet activity. Participants take on the role of a key person or institution in go-go history and interview each other. For the session at Sidwell, the artists and scholars played themselves to the delight of the participants. Following the activity, participants worked in small groups to write questions about go-go. The performers and scholars were each assigned to one of the small groups to respond to the questions. This led to a highly participatory and intimate dialogue.

In the assembly, author Natalie Hopkinson introduced each artist and invited them to talk about the history of go-go and their respective role as artists. She also took questions from the audience. One student asked about the role of improvisation and another asked what the performers think of the new bounce beat. Another said, “Can you play more music for us.” The artists enthusiastically agreed as long as students would join in. About ten students came to the stage, including one young man who got on the mic and invited everyone to “get on their feet” to join in. The room erupted in clapping and shouts as the student invoked the time-honored tradition of call and response, a key aspect of go-go.  “Hey ya, hey ya, hey ya,”  echoed throughout the room as students responded to each chant. The visit ended with the group performing the hit song “Da Butt” with the entire room on their feet.

May 10: Sweet Cherie at Dorothy Height Elementary School

On May 10, Cherie “Sweet Cherie” Mitchell Agurs visited the second-grade classroom of Kevin Johnson at Dorothy I. Height Elementary School (DCPS). Cherie began by talking about the history of go-go and finding out how much students knew about DC’s indigenous music. After that, she demonstrated a few classic go-go beats and asked students to join her. 

Students were then given instruments, with Cherie instructing each student on a specific beat to play. After practicing a bit, Cherie asked a volunteer to come up and sing. One student jumped up and began to sing “Hello” accompanied by her classmates and Cherie on piano. The class continued with a variety of students taking turns singing, dancing, and serving as the “talkers.” The class concluded by everyone singing the classic go-go tune “Sardines and Pork ‘n Beans.”

March 24: Ju Ju at E.L.Haynes Public Charter School (High School)

On March 24, William “Ju Ju” House visited students in Julian Hipkins III’s DC History classes at E.L. Haynes Public Charter School. The DC History class was joined by students from Jennifer Fox-Thomas’ music classes. Ju Ju began by asking students to gather around a table at the front of the room to view images and documents related to go go from all over the world. Students were able to examine and discuss various pieces of go-go memorabilia that Ju Ju collected over three decades of playing DC indigenous music.

Ju Ju then asked students to come up and play some go-go beats with instruments that he brought. Ju Ju instructed each three-person group on how to play a go-go beat. After the brief tutorial, they began and ended with a loud applause from their classmates. After the demonstration, Ju Ju explained the history of go-go and how he came to love the music. He took the opportunity to ask students their thoughts on how to keep go-go alive. Students had a variety of answers.

• A reunion concert with all of the great go-go groups.
• Larger social media presence in regards to the history of go-go as well as upcoming events.
• Photographer Maybelline McCoy suggested using the hashtag #reclaimgogo when posting information on social media.

When Hipkins mentioned that Ju Ju would be speaking at a whole school assembly at another school the following week, a powerful exchange occurred:

Student: Why didn’t you do that for us?

Hipkins: Ju Ju is here.

Student: I mean for the whole school

Haynes teacher: Why are you asking him? You have the power.

Student: Can I work with you to make it happen? Are you willing to work with us?

Hipkins: I am.

After the visit, the student agreed to help bring a go-go event to the school as a gift from the senior class to cement their legacy at the school.

This classroom visit was funded by #NzingaNewYear donors. Photos by Maybelline McCoy.

October 21: Dr. Natalie Hopkinson at Kimball Elementary School

On October 21, renowned author Dr. Natalie Hopkinson visited the third-grade classroom of Carly Palella at Kimball Elementary School (DCPS). After a brief introduction by Palella, Hopkinson played pieces of music from all over the world. From Salsa to reggae; students were asked to identify the different forms of music. With each new rhythm, students raised their hand to identify the sound. When the final rhythm, go-go, was played, students shouted in unison to identify the music unique to their hometown. When the class was asked who created go-go, the students all responded “Chuck Brown!”

Hopkinson explained the journey that brought her to write Go-Go Live: The Musical Life and Death of a Chocolate City. Students listened intently as she explained how her classmates at the University of Maryland noticed her enthusiasm when talking about go-go and encouraged her to write about it. She also discussed the topic of research, describing how for her dissertation and book she conducted countless interviews and made first-hand visits to go-go’s. Some of the students commented that they have also done field visits for their study of D.C. monuments. They were pleased to have their research method validated by a published author.  Hopkinson continued by explaining why go-go is unique to “Chocolate City” and a brief history of how African-American culture influenced D.C. Here are pictures from the visit.

September 30: Sweet Cherie at Tyler Elementary School

Sweet Cherie played the piano and Robert Simmons, the Tyler Elementary School (DCPS) music teacher, played the Conga drum. Together, they created a musical relationship that improvised current songs while explaining the history and form of go-go music. Sweet Cherie came into the classroom with a wide smile, full of welcoming energy.  She used this energy to lead call and response songs, improvise beats with Mr. Simmons, and guide them in using their own instruments.  The two musicians worked easily together. As the conversation of the student’s musical knowledge flowed, Sweet Cherie and Mr. Simmons created a party-like atmosphere that called for everyone, including the teachers, to become involved in making the music.

As a testament to Sweet Cherie’s skills as not only a performer but also a teacher, she effectively engages students of all ages, as demonstrated by her unscheduled session with a pre-school class at the school. After Simmons engaged them in a movement song and dance, she asked for their favorite songs. With the help of Simmons, she created a go-go beat to the popular Mickey Mouse Clubhousetheme song.  By using a go-go beat with a song of their choice, she defined the genre in a way that was relatable and easily understood by preschoolers. Then she handed out instruments so that the children could join in on the performance. [Description from Teaching for Change volunteer, Zanso Dalili.]

September 28: Cherie Mitchell at Duke Ellington School of the Arts

Renowned go-go artists Sweet Cherie, Shannon Browne, and Kato Hammond talked with students in Mr. Davey Yarborough's jazz class at Duke Ellington High School (DCPS) as part of “Teach the Beat.” Cherie Mitchell is an alumni of Duke Ellington. The visit was coordinated by Teaching for Change, in partnership with DCPS, and with funding from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities (DCCAH). Also on the visit were Nzinga Tull (Teaching for Change board), Renee Abdullah (DCPS), and Leonard E. Brown (Thelonius Monk Institute of Jazz).

September 23: Sweet Cherie at Takoma EC

On September 23, Cherie “Sweet Cherie” Mitchell Agurs visited the third-grade classroom of Raphael Bonhomme at Takoma Education Campus (DCPS). Before she arrived, the class reviewed norms that should be followed when guest speakers visit. Bonhomme then passed out index cards for students to write down questions they had about go-go. When Sweet Cherie entered the classroom, students smiled with excitement.

Cherie began by talking about the history of go-go and how she came to love music. After that, she led the students in some popular call and response chants that are staples of go-go music. Cherie went around the room, read the students’ names on their desk labels, and inserted each name into the chant “Go _______, it’s your birthday.” Students waited in anticipation as Cherie approached their seat. Students were then asked to either keep the beat by banging on their desks or adding additional melodies using shakers. Cherie explained that each person added to the music with his or her sound. After the class joined in with a few songs, they asked a variety of questions about go-go.

September 17: John Buchanan at School Without Walls

On September 17, John Buchanan visited two of Kerry Sylvia’s D.C. history classes at School Without Walls (DCPS). Buchanan began with a powerpoint presentation describing the formation of the music that would become go-go. He described the song Mister Magic by Grover Washington Jr. and how its melody was a major influence on early go-go rhythms. Buchanan asked students to snap their fingers and stomp their feet to the music in order to feel the rhythms that laid the foundation of go-go. As the class joined in, the floor vibrated to the beat. 

Buchanan brought old photos of the bands he played with and his gold record for the hit single “Bustin Loose.” Students asked questions about go-go, Chuck Brown, and the future of the music today. While describing his years with the Soul Searchers and Rare Essence, Buchanan stated “A band that is very successful is like a Super Bowl team. They have to blend together to make a successful sound.” When asked why go-go became so popular, he stated: “The go-go beat is a conduit that you can add anything to.” One of the students commented,

I have always been extremely proud to call D.C. my home, and have always heard go-go music but I never fully understood it. I never listened on my own and never felt a connection to it. After the visit from John Buchanan I feel as though I can say I do in fact have a connection to the music. And in doing so feel more like a Washingtonian. —Max Vichr

Read more powerful reflections by the students about what they learned.

September 16: Ju Ju at Walker Jones Education Campus

On September 16, Ju Ju visited the Pre-K class of Shonte Tulloss and the 8th grade class of Travis Bouldin at Walker-Jones Education Campus (DCPS). Ju Ju engaged the early childhood students by tossing a ball and asking them questions about go-go. When he pulled out his drums, the students immediately wanted to play. Ju Ju gave instruments to students with specific instructions in order to create a go-go beat.

In the 8th grade class, Ju Ju separated students into teams that played different go-go beats. The three-person groups played a selection that Ju Ju assigned. As each group played in front of the classroom, their classmates cheered them on and danced in their seats. The two teachers that invited Ju Ju had nothing but praise for his visit:

We wanted to thank Ju Ju for his patience and flexibility with our youngest learners. His work was authentic and his expertise undeniable.  —Shonte Tulloss

Ju Ju is an amazing artist that truly brings go-go to life in a classroom!  Many students were fully aware of the genre but did not know as much about the history and the amount of skill required to create a go-go band.  Through many different formats, including video, handouts, magazines and hands-on experience, students learned the basics of go-go along with techniques of popular artists.  Overall, it was an enlightening day for everyone involved! —Travis Bouldin

September 16: Sweet Cherie at Patterson Elementary School

On September 16, Cherie “Sweet Cherie” Mitchell Agurs visited the second and fourth-grade classrooms of Chigoziem Odumade and Panella Rivera at Patterson Elementary School (DCPS). Sweet Cherie began by asking if they knew the person on her shirt. Many students shouted in unison, “Chuck Brown!” 

When Cherie began playing go-go tunes, some students stood and began to dance near their chairs. After a few minutes, Cherie asked the students to come up to the front of the room to help lead the class in song as “talkers.” She explained that every group needs a talker to acknowledge the crowd and shout out instructions. Near the end of class, students surrounded Sweet Cherie at her keyboard and took turns practicing some famous go sounds.