Music keeps California teens off the streets
Richmond, a small city in Northern California just outside of San Francisco, is known for two things: rap music and gang violence, which often leads to drive-by shootings and homicides.
But on Richmond’s southern edge, there’s a building called the RYSE Youth Center. The center was opened to give youth a safe haven from the realities of the streets.
Twenty-year-old Xavier Polk has taken full advantage of the opportunity and introduced a free music production class where he helps teenagers develop their musical talents – and stay off the streets and out of trouble.
Listen to the report by Anne Hofmann and Aaron Mendelson in Richmond, California:
Xavier Polk teaches a free beatmaking class at the RYSE Youth Center (Photo: A. Mendelson)
Fiften-year-old Janelle Thomas is working on her own track in Xavier’s class (Photo: A. Mendelson)
Student Emandre Winston uses the keyboard connected to the music production software to work on his own track in Xavier’s class (Photo: A. Mendelson)
The mural on the outside of the RYSE Youth Center in Richmond, California, where Xavier teaches his beatmaking class to give teenagers a safe haven (Photo: A. Mendelson)
