Songs from the Neighborhood
From left: Dr. Vatreisha Nyemba and Anthony Giambroni (Building Hope in the City staff), and the five resident leaders with Renovare (seated) after the premiere performance of “Songs from the Neighborhood”.
Our hearts are full. Over the last two months, Renovare sat down with five inspiring resident leaders to hear about the work they are doing in Cleveland’s Clark-Fulton, Stockyards, and Brooklyn Centre neighborhoods. All five of these individuals have led projects through Rally CLE, an initiative of Building Hope in the City that unites and engages residents around the ideas they have for improving their communities by supporting projects & grassroots programs that promote connection, equity and grassroots leadership.
As we listened to their stories, we embarked on the collaborative process that is Documentary Songwriting to turn parts of their stories into songs. It was truly a joy to hear about their commitment to their neighborhoods, the ways they’ve learned to see in new ways, and the passion that they’ve turned into action.
Once we had written these songs, we curated a new concert in our “Voices'' programming area. This multi-media concert experience, premiered on November 19, blended instrumental music, history of the neighborhoods, recorded narratives, a live poetry reading, and these original Documentary Songs. Through this concert experience, the broader community is invited to listen in a fresh way to these resident leaders.
Read the lyrics to all of the songs by clicking below!
One of our songwriters, Ebonie Randle-Joiner, ended up choosing to sing her song at the culminating performance. She reflected on this process of writing and performing her Documentary Song with us:
“This process was so cathartic. I’m on a personal healing journey. The ladies didn’t know this but, those [songwriting] sessions were like balm to my soul. It helped me to release ALL the emotions surrounding the situation the song is based on… It was a pleasure to work with the ladies and be vulnerable. It changed me through this whole process. Thanks for helping me to pull something out of myself that I didn’t know I had… Thank you Renovare Music and Building Hope in the City for allowing me to share in the experience of expression with songs through the style of Documentary Songs.”
Ebonie also wrote a poem as part of this journey, which we are delighted to share below.
After the performance we invited attendees to greet each other, enjoy refreshments, and begin reflecting on what we had all experienced together by responding to some questions posted on the wall. We then continued this process of reflecting and learning through a panel discussion featuring three of our song-writing resident leaders (Ebonie Randle-Joiner, Jean Paul Hernandez, and Yomarie Gonzalez) and Building Hope in the City’s Community Development Manager Anthony Giambroni. Dr. Vatreisha Nyemba, Director of Leader and Community Development at Building Hope in the City, moderated the discussion giving the audience a chance to understand their work and vision even more fully.
Another one of our resident leader songwriting participants Jean Paul Hernandez also shared an original poem during the performance. He had the following to share about the experience:
“Thank you Building Hope in the City and Renovare Music for allowing me to tell my story of Clark-Fulton through song/music with four other community leaders. Thank you for giving me a platform to read my poem and be a part of the panel discussion with other community members. What an amazing event today!”
From the first songwriting session through the culminating performance and panel discussion, it was incredibly special and impactful to gather people from various neighborhoods around Cleveland to hear about the important work that these resident leaders are doing. May we all learn to see more clearly the beauty and brokenness of our neighborhoods, and may our increased vision translate into meaningful action.
Ebonie’s poem
She said she was drawn to the quiet of the garden.
“Come to Me, you who are weary and burdened, I’ll give you relief
Perhaps that’s what she heard as she strolled down 39th Street.
She said she was drawn to the quiet of the garden.
Her soul seeking refuge from the chaos of the streets
From the torments of her mind.
From the selling of her soul
She reached for the boy to feel it’s comfort of peace
She said she was drawn to the quiet of the garden
Hypodermically she slipped into heroines sleep.
Back and forth
Forth and back as she swayed under its spell.
Back and forth, forth and back
Rock a bye lady to the ground she fell.
She said she was drawn to the quiet of the garden
Skin burning under the rays of that Sunday’s sun, she breathed laboredly under Heroine’s song. The heat burned through her soul as she fought between the here and the now slipping into the by and bye under its heat laying on a plastic sheet.
Breathe,
Breathe deep into the Narcan’s release. She awakened from the deep of Heroin’s sleep.
She said she was drawn to the quiet of the garden
Revived was her body, did her soul find relief?
She was drawn to the quiet of the garden, is what she told me.