Smithsonian Visitors Learn about Go-Go and Teach the Beat

Courtesy of the Smithsonian’s Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation.
Courtesy of the Smithsonian’s Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation.

On June 18, 2016, the Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation sponsored a program called “Hip Hop and Go-Go: Community Innovations” at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.

Attendees enjoyed a live musical performance and learned from panelists Biz Markie, Donnell Floyd, D-Nice, and Charles Stephenson.

Stephenson, co-author of a book on go-go, described the Teach the Beat effort to bring go-go artists and scholars to D.C. K-12 classrooms.

Courtesy of the Smithsonian’s Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation.
Courtesy of the Smithsonian’s Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation.

Teaching for Change summer intern Mansur Buffins attended the event and noted,

One did not leave the program without understanding the important role that hip-hop music plays in many communities around the nation and globally, as well as the intimate importance of go-go music in Washington, D.C. Community members were elated to hear about Teaching for Change’s Teach the Beat initiative. I thoroughly enjoyed the program and look forward to learning more about go-go music while I am here in D.C.