You have probably seen this by now…
Pearl-Cohn Entertainment Magnet High School student Queen McElrath wrote and recorded the above song in response to the situation in Ferguson, MO. Writing about the song on MyAcademyBlog.com, Queen said, “We hope that this message will show that teens can positively contribute to a volatile situation. We just wanted to recognize what was going on; somewhere in this world there is a community that is hurting and if we work together, we can help heal this situation.”
She was just expressing herself using the amazing tools available to her, thanks to the Pearl-Cohn Academy of Entertainment Management and its in-school recording studio. After recording the song, she and her friends put together a music video and posted it on the school’s YouTube channel. From there things started getting more serious.
First it got a lot of attention on Twitter and Facebook. She performed it for Metro Police and concerned citizens at the Mt. Zion community meeting . The Tennessean published a story this week, which was then syndicated nationally by USA Today. Then the song could be heard on NPR on stations across the country thanks to a story on WPLN from Emily Siner.
Believe it or not, now it’s gone global. BBC World Radio used it as the soundtrack for a compilation of national reactions to the situation in Ferguson (starting at the 5:00 mark).
https://twitter.com/BBC_WHYS/status/504675963482152962
As of this morning, the video has racked up thousands of views on YouTube and is still spreading around the world.
And it all started because Queen couldn’t contain her desire to bring a positive message to a terrible crisis. We are proud of her for her positive outlook and her relentless drive to share it with her peers.
Nice work, Queen (and Destinee, too!).
Filed under: Students Tagged: bbc world, entertainment magnet, ferguson, high schools, magnet schools, michael brown, npr, pearl-cohn, queen mcelrath, relentless entertainment group, students, tennessean, usa today, wpln
