Eastside High School is rich in its history. However, there is pain and pride in this history. The marching band used to reflect the school’s majority Black population and the surrounding neighborhoods. It was the pride of Black and white students alike; they participated in equal numbers. But today, very few Black students play instruments in the band. Our story is one of our community identity being stripped away and we are asking that it be returned.

WHY:

Research has made it clear that when Black students participate in music education programs that do not validate their cultural backgrounds, they are more likely to feel “rejected, devalued, exposed and judged.” Inversely, when music education programs introduce students to a music program that validates their identity it creates feelings of security, confidence, value and acceptance. In order for Black youth to develop healthy self-concepts, pride in their cultural identities must be acknowledged and nurtured.

By adding the original HBCU style back to Eastside's current corps-style:

* More youth of color (Black and Brown students)  would join the program.

* More youth would be engaged in this extracurricular activity instead of on the streets

* There would be a rise in standardized test scores of students in engaged in music.

* There would be a reduction in discipline referrals 

THE ASK:

INFUSE Eastside’s Traditional cultural style of band with the corps. Marching style and develop a culturally responsive music education program that is vetted and approved by the community.

This movement is Bigger Than The Music. It is about impacting students across Gainesville and surrounding students to be more....to think bigger. This is now "your" opportunity to speak up! Please sign this petition, share it with others, and join us as we RALLY on Tuesday, Aug 16, 2022 at 5pm. We will meet at 620 East University Ave (District Administration Office).

THE HISTORY:

In 1970, Gainesville was in an uproar: riots and fighting, bomb threats, protest marches in the streets. The federal government was finally enforcing desegregation, effective immediately.  In Alachua County, school board leaders closed the Black school, Lincoln High, and forced those students to bus to white schools and two newly opened integrated schools: Buchholz High on the west side, and Eastside High.

Although the school board had closed Buccholz too, Buchholz was allowed to transfer its name to the newly built integrated school. Lincoln wasn’t. Eastside was forced to develop a new identity from scratch.

Mr. Richard Parker realized that this identity could be fostered through marching band. Marching bands have deep roots in African American history, trailing back to the Revolutionary War. Black people were not allowed to carry weapons, but they could carry instruments in fife and drum corps. They returned home with a new musical expression of shared identity and pride.

Marching bands later became tools of protest. During Jim Crow, they allowed large groups of Black people to gather. With loud music and colorful uniforms, they didn’t just take up space. They demanded attention. Eastside succeeded because the marching band succeeded. The band was a community effort- We must return to OUR community where are Black students are also valued!

 

 

 

REFERENCE:

https://thegroundtruthproject.org/how-a-black-marching-marching-band-style-gainesville-florida-eastside-high-lincoln-buchholz-school-richard-parker/