Adam Roybal

CASASTART, Denver, CO

I’ve been working for social justice for almost as long as I’ve been an artist. I’m 25 and over the past nine years, I’ve recorded and released eleven hip hop albums, including my newest release this year. I come from a family that has always emphasized the value of education and making a difference in the world. My mom, in particular, has been my mentor and a long-time leader in the Colorado Statewide Parent Coalition. I’ve always been encouraged to give back to my community and through my work with Mi Casa Resource Center for Women’s CASASTART program, I’m able to combine this passion for my community with my love of music to really make a difference in young people’s lives.

In the CASASTART program, we use music to recognize and draw out the multiple gifts that young people have. Music is a great starting point for hard conversations with young people about their lives and their communities. Music is also incredibly powerful at helping kids understand their world and express themselves. This spring, our group, who named themselves CASASTART VOICES, wrote, recorded and released a CD called “Hear Our Voice” about the importance of listening to young people and appreciating what they have to offer. The song has been used by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation as part of the Philanthropy and Volunteerism 75th Anniversary Celebration.

One fourth grade student I worked with was very disruptive in class. His mom, who is raising him alone, said he was difficult at home. We began to work on writing a song and he seemed to find his groove — he started to write a new verse every week. He’d come to see me during lunch and we’d work on music, or we’d work on art, which he has a real talent for. This summer, we performed the song in public twice, and he’s become a real leader among the other kids — he has gotten students together to create sets for the performance — he has found his passion.

I really enjoy helping young people explore and challenge the world around them by understanding and embracing their history. So many of the kids I work with are Latinos, Latinas and African-Americans who have lost the confidence that many younger kids naturally have in themselves. No one has ever told them that they are descended from some of history’s greatest philosophers, architects, and mathematicians. Through music, I try to help them regain their confidence, realize that it’s in their blood to be geniuses, and motivate them to recognize problems in their communities as opportunities to change the world around them.

I always say to young people, “If your mind can conceive it, and your heart can believe it, you can achieve it.”

© 2007 Innovation Center for Community and Youth Development