4 | JULY 16 - 22, 2021 | WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM
CITY VOICES LANDGREN THINGS WE DON’T WANT TO SEE IN WORCESTER MONOPOLY ...
FIRST PERSON
Breaking crews are the heart of hip-hop Bridget Flaherty Special to Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK
WORCESTERIA
After prolonged battle to keep their space, the Bridge closes its doors Victor D. Infante Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK
The eff ort to save the Bridge Academy and Community Center has gone on for either four months or more than two years, depending on how you look at it, but now, those efforts have come to an end: The hardscrabble venue, which housed arts nonprofi ts and vocation training programs for at-risk youth, has been shuttered, according to property manager Dan Ford, and all events scheduled on the building’s calendar have been can-
celed. According to Ford, the news of upcoming block parties to raise money to save the venue spooked the property’s owner, a trust maintained by Benjamin Mantyla, because they threatened to scuttle the deal to sell the Southbridge Street property to a Boston-based developer. Ford thinks this is ironic, as the group had been closing in on the amount needed to pick up the purchase, with $750,000 in hand, and a clear path to loans to cover the rest. See BRIDGE, Page 6
Hip-hop at its core is about humanity, relationships and connections. Crews play in the culture, especially in terms of fostering community and focusing on relationships. From their earliest iterations, crews off ered a sense of community to young kids who may not have had other options or outlets. This philosophy of crew and community as family is essential to the ethos of hip-hop. Hip-hop evolved out of an environment that was oppressing minorities. It was a safe, artistic means of expression for these kids who were being marginalized and abandoned. In his book “Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop,” Jeff Chang explains how this environment led to the birth and boom of hip-hop. He particularly discusses the role of crews as a safe haven for kids in a dangerous environment. As a result of the political and economic abandonment of the Bronx, white kids who couldn’t aff ord to leave the neighborhood formed gangs in order to assert their superiority over the Black and brown kids coming to the neighborhood. This led to them creating their own rival gangs in order to protect themselves. However, hip-hop provided an alternative to joining a gang as it too off ered community and safety in its own way. In order to fully understand the impact that crews have on
Breakdancing made the great leap from underground art form to pop culture in 1983 after being confi ned mostly to street corners in Black and Hispanic neighborhoods of New York City for several years. By March 16, 1984, when these youngsters practiced their moves near the intersection of 41st Street and Rookwood Avenue, the breakdancing rage had arrived in Indianapolis. JOHN R. GENTRY/INDIANAPOLIS NEWS
its members, it is important to look at individual stories and testimonies from b-boys. In the fi rst episode of the series “Crew Code,” members of the Renegade Rockers crew explain how their community has impacted their lives in a positive way. They pride themselves on their sense of com-
munity. One b-boy stated that the Renegades “became brothers basically,” therefore emphasizing the familial bond between them. The emphasis on human connection is inherent in the pedagogy of breaking. HipSee CREWS, Page 6
