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City Voices
LANDGREN THINGS WE DON’T WANT TO SEE IN WORCESTER MONOPOLY ...
WORCESTERIA
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After prolonged battle to keep their space, the Bridge closes its doors
Victor D. Infante
Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK
The effort 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 nonprofits 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 canceled.
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.
FIRST PERSON
Breaking crews are the heart of hip-hop
Bridget Flaherty
Special to Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK
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 offered 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 afford 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 offered community and safety in its own way. In order to fully understand the impact that crews have on its members, it is important to look at individual stories and testimonies from b-boys. In the first 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 community. 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. Hip-
Breakdancing made the great leap from underground art form to pop culture in 1983 after being confined 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
Bridge
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“The plan from the beginning was for me to take over the building,” says Ford, in a phone conversation. Ford has always been a level-headed voice in an always difficult and sometimes heated situation, a composure he maintains even as he expresses his disappointment in how events played out, all the way back from the announcement of the building’s impending sale back in March. Originally, they were given “a week in advance to come up with the money” to buy the building themselves, “and here we are,” he says. “Still fighting. I see it from all angles. I never take a story from one side. I can understand where (Mantyla) is coming from. I just thought we had a better understanding.”
Programs that use the Bridge for space include the Jubilee Career Center for the Performing Arts Inc., Worcester Youth Cooperatives, StandUp for Kids, El Salon, Side Note Programs and Worcester Free Fridge, as well as Ford’s own personal auto-repair business, East Coast Autoworks, and his program to teach kids mechanic skills, Crash Course Creations.
Ford says that most of the money raised to save the building will have to be returned, as it was contingent on a particular use. Still, while this particular fight is over, Ford remains undaunted, and he’s begun looking for a new space to continue the programs. He’s looking for a particular sort of space.
“A big premise on what this thing (the Bridge) was founded on was the actual building of the building with the kids. Showing them how to do woodworking, masonry all that, so I’m not looking for a finished building, as such.”
Ford theorizes that, with all eight nonprofits involved in the space, there are about 50 kids who are participating in programs at the Bridge, with many more floating through on an occasional basis. Largely, these are kids from the neighborhood, many who have fallen through the official safety nets for at-risk children. That’s the salient point that often gets lost in discussions of the Bridge, which often treat it as if it were just a piece of real estate: When the system failed some of these kids, Ford and the Bridge were there to catch them, and instead of falling through the cracks, they began learning a trade.
“We’re really building community here,” says Ford. “It’s not about the individual kid, it’s about the ‘we’ not the ‘me.’ We’re gonna keep pushing. Out hearts haven’t gone anywhere.”
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Crews
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hop is passed on from generation to generation, similarly to the process of oral tradition. Bboys and b-girls pass their knowledge on to each other in order to keep the culture alive. Crews are the easiest way to establish this teaching environment, as they provide a space for b-boys to mentor new students.
In an interview with an Irish b-boy for the interview series “Breakwiser,” the iconic b-boy Que Rock discusses these ideas and provides even more insight into the role of crews in the hip-hop culture. Que Rock brings an interesting perspective to the culture, as he was born on a Native American reservation and grew up in both the Bronx and Toronto. He incorporates aspects of each of these communities into his style and philosophies of breaking.
Promoting a crew consists of travelling, putting on workshops and showcases, attending different jams and events, and more. The internet has made connecting with others and promoting your crew much easier as it invites people from all over the world to learn about hip-hop. On YouTube, I found a showcase that Ready to Rock put on in Kawasaki, Japan. I clicked on it solely with the intention of watching Que Rock break. After listening to his insights about hip-hop, I was eager to see the legend himself get down. However, I was surprised to see that the first person introduced in the showcase was the newest and youngest member of the crew, b-boy Krow. Que Rock hyped him up and gave him the stage first. I thought that this perfectly represented the role of community and mentors in hip-hop.
This semester, I experienced firsthand the impact that one’s community can have on their breaking. Our first few classes were held virtually on Zoom, much to my relief. I was terrified to dance in front of my classmates, most of whom were strangers. I was afraid to embarrass myself. I was traumatized from years of gym classes in elementary and middle school where it was essential to be a good athlete while pretending that you don’t care at all. I was worried that my classmates would have that same mentality and therefore that I wouldn’t get anything out of this course. I couldn’t have been more wrong.
The classroom environment was positive, upbeat, and fun. The ease with which we went from a class to a team to a community to our own crew was thrilling to experience and a true testament to Prof. Taylor Travassos-Lomba’s energy and teaching philosophy. We all wanted to make him proud, so we tried as hard as we could. We cheered each other on and helped each other figure out different moves. One of my favorite days was our second-to-last class when we were all preparing for our final movement exam. I remember messing around with transitions and different moves with Caroline, Joshua, and Ryan and feeling really inspired creatively. It was fun to watch them come up with different combinations and to offer suggestions for new transitions. It felt like a perfect way to wrap up the semester.
Communities are essential to hip-hop as a culture, as it promotes relationships. This encourages people to both learn and to teach, therefore spreading the culture. Communities and crews are like families and are crucial to hiphop culture as they provide a sense of encouragement, education, and safety to all of their members.
Bridget Flaherty is the winner of the Hip-Hop Essay Contest at the College of the Holy Cross. This essay has been edited for length.
