Teach the Beat!

Bringing the distinctive D.C. sound of go-go into the classroom.

Teaching for Change is honored to work with D.C.  area schools and the authors of The Beat! Go-Go Music from Washington, D.C. to develop lessons and share teaching ideas for infusing the history and music of go-go in middle and high school social studies, language arts, math, music, and/or D.C. history classes, and to bring renowned go-go performers into D.C. classrooms.

"Go-go has stayed true to time-honored cultural scripts such as live call-and-response, live instrumentation, as well as its locally rooted fashions, slang, dance, distribution and economic systems. Simply put: Go-Go never sold out. There is a grit and texture to the music that gives voice to the communities where it was created." –Natalie Hopkinson

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Oct 4: JuJu House and Bo Beedy at Cardozo EC

October 04, 2021  /  Mykella Palmer

It was an all day affair with the first in-person classroom visit for Teach the Beat since May.  Founding Teach the Beat artist William “JuJu” House and newcomer Bo Beedy led a series of workshops on the universal language of music for Olivia Dougherty’s and Beth Barkley’s classes for students new to the United States. Most of their students are emergent English learners and have experienced interruptions in their schooling, so House and Beedy highlighted the common origins between go-go and music of the Latino/a/x/e diaspora. They also noted that Godfather of go-go music Chuck Brown developed some of his unique sound during his time with the band Los Latinos. Dougherty reflected:

The students commented how much they appreciated learning about go-go music. It was their first time ever hearing about this genre of music. 

categories / 2021
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