Drums are a hook to get youth interested in finding purpose

By Lynne Cope Hummell EDITOR

On a chilly Saturday morning in February, seven young people, accompanied by their teacher, all bundled up in hoodies with matching T-shirts on top, lined up with their drums to play for a gathering crowd at Historic Mitchelville Park on Hilton Head Island.

The event, in honor of Black History Month, was Freedom Celebration Day, which recognized Beaufort’s Robert Smalls and his place in American history.

The young folks were part of the opening entertainment for the day. But these children are more than drummers in a line.

They are part of a nonprofit organization called COIN – an acronym for Changing Our Image Now.

The organization was founded by L.J. Bush, son of longtime Bluffton leaders Leon and Laura A. Bush, to mentor young people and encourage them to find their purpose in life, and to help their parents find ways to assist their children on that journey. The group serves young people from Bluffton and Hilton Head Island.

“We are trying to put these kids in front of different opportunities,” Bush said. “Drumline is the hook to get them interested. Then we expose them to other opportunities.”

The drumline is led by Keith Cross, teacher and mentor, a transplant from Ohio just four years ago.

Bush and Cross met playing basketball. “He asked me, ‘In a perfect world, what would you want to do?’ And I said, ‘Have a music school and a drumline.’”

Bush replied, “I have some kids.”

The drumline got its start with 5-gallon buckets upside down on a picnic table, said Keith Cross, the music director. Then they moved to drum pads, which had more resonance.

Then, the group was invited to play for a Crescendo event last October, and they really needed to come up with drums, Cross said. He and Bush found a woman in Florida who had drums to share. “This lady in Fort Lauderdale said her school had closed because of Covid, and she had no use for the drums,” Bush said. “She had exactly what we needed.”

Bush drove to Florida and picked them up.

Please see DRUMS on page 24A

DRUMS from page 22A