Making sweet music: Walker West and Ujamaa Place team up to teach, digital-wise

Wesley Sims, who loves making and recording music, is one of a handful of young men who has grabbed a chance to participate in the Digital Music Production (DMP) program, a new collaboration between Ujamaa Place and Walker West Music Academy.

"I'm a musician and an artist," he said, adding that he especially enjoys the program's hands-on elements. "Now that there's a class for [digital production], it's a no-brainer."

That's what the leaders of the two St. Paul-based organizations thought, too. Since its founding in 1988, Walker West's goal has been to enrich the lives of young people through music. Ujamaa Place, which opened in 2010, seeks to give economic and personal stability to Black men between the ages of 18 and 30, many of whom have been in the criminal justice system.

A partnership between the two respected Black community organizations makes sense, said Michael Belton, Ujamaa's interim chief operating officer.

"It's another way to help them be successful," Belton said.

Braxton Haulcy, Walker West's executive director who recently joined Ujamaa's board of directors, said the men in Ujamaa Place need the kind of programming that Walker West has been providing young people for years.

"When we talk about community, we don't talk about men coming out of incarceration. But in the Black community, we have a higher proportion of young men who are incarcerated," Haulcy said. "And when they come out, programs like Ujamaa Place are wonderful."

Ujamaa Place provides a variety of services to more than 160 participants, ranging from housing to education, employment and mental health and wellness. Officials say that more than 5,000 men have transformed their lives through Ujamaa Place, maintaining a 4% recidivism rate — compared to 68% nationally.

Both organizations are using grant money they've received through the NBA Foundation to launch the cooperative program. Officials said they hope that the small beginning — four men are in the first group of participants over the next few months — blooms into a growing and continuing relationship.

Haulcy said he also hopes the program not only whets their appetite to work in music production, but sparks a love for music as an art form.

"These men could use music in their lives, and they don't necessarily have to play an instrument," said Haulcy, who recently joined Ujamaa Place's board. "Although it would be great if they did."

The program trains the young men to use digital platforms to record, produce and create original music — skills that will prepare them for careers and pave their way for continuing education. Walker West has ongoing relationships with Hamline University and the High School for Recording Arts in St. Paul, Haulcy said.

The DMP program, rooted in the African-American cultural experience, is led by three-time Grammy nominee Allan Kingdom. Participants will use professional music creation software, operate audio gear and utilize the industry's newest technology to produce music.

In a statement, Ujamaa Place CEO Christopher Crutchfield said: "We are so fortunate to partner with an organization as dynamic and innovative as Walker West Music Academy and with an artist as talented and community focused as Allan Kingdom."

Crutchfield added: "We see this project creating many possibilities for continued partnerships, and quite honestly, our Ujamaa men just can't wait to get started."

Kingdom, too, said he was excited about the program's potential.

"It is an honor and a privilege to be able to give back and share my talent, knowledge, and experience with others in hopes that they will accomplish their dreams and goals as well," he said in a statement. "Programs similar to DMP are the reason why I've had the opportunity to reach the heights I've reached and continue to grow in my own life and career."

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