Photo Credit: Bark Tees
In light of today’s election – where education funding is a key issue – we thought we’d share an uplifting story that highlights two famous Philadelphians who not only remember their alma mater fondly, but are going the extra mile to help keep it alive during these difficult times.
Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson and Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter – two members of the Grammy-winning hip-hop group The Roots – took on the responsibility of launching an independent non-profit to benefit their alma mater, the Philadelphia High School for Creative and Performing Arts or CAPA, after hearing about its $1.1 million budget cut.
CAPA, a magnet school located on South Broad Street in the old Ridgway Library, is where students major in areas like creative writing, instrumental music, visual arts, theater, dance, vocal music, and film. It’s also where Thompson and Trotter started collaborating as students and performing together in talent shows.
Thompson and Trotter created the CAPA Foundation with the goal of providing long-term support to the high school, that like other schools within the School District of Philadelphia have seen their budgets slashed in recent years. It aims to raise $500,000 annually for the first five years and then $1 million annually after that. With the help of the foundation the high school plans to provide funding for purchasing books and classroom supplies, restoring clubs and after-school activities and renovating its theatre.
The Associated Press reported that budget cuts at CAPA resulted in the loss of 19 teachers and staff members since 2012. And that funding for clubs and extracurricular activities has been eliminated, and the school’s annual theatre production was cancelled.
“It cultivated us. It educated us,” Thompson told the Associated Press of CAPA. “This is more than just pay it forward or celeb guilt. This is necessary. … It keeps you out of trouble. It helps develop your personality. If you take that away, you’re just a machine.”
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