Crowning Too Early Scholarship & Artistic Grant Award Ceremony
Date and Time
Dec 29, 2019 5:00 pm
Location
Anacostia
2004 Martin Luther King Jr Ave SE, Washington, District of Columbia, 20020
Dec 29, 2019 5:00 pm
Anacostia
On this evening we will be celebrating the first-ever recipient of the Crowning Too Early Scholarship Fund, Hugh Downs. A passionate musician and graduate of the Duke Ellington School of Arts, Hugh will be the recipient of the $3,000 joint college scholarship and artistic grant.
When asked about his 'Crown,' Hugh responded:
"I would say the aspect of my life that is my crown is my ability to write and play music. I am a jazz guitarist and I feel that I have a level of mastery that is high for my years. When I create music not only do I revere myself, others revere me as well. I believe this is because I have made them feel in some special way. This is my crown, the one place I shine, the one place where I am respected, the one place that brings me great joy. This began when I was 7 years old."
Come and join us send Hugh back to the Michigan State University College of Music with community and love from his village.
The Crowning Too Early Scholarship Fund is an original grassroots college scholarship and artistic grant for one special Washington D.C. senior. Open to any graduating D.C. student planning to attend college in Fall 2019, the C.T.E. Fund will award $1500 towards the recipient’s undergraduate journey and an additional $1500 towards a creative venture of their choosing.
Crowning Too Early (2017) is the dual-title of Malachi “MalPractice” Byrd’s (Inaugural DC Youth Poet Laureate) first music project and first fully published book of poetry (Penmanship Books.) The diverse project is a narrative journey detailing the erasure of Black childhood and the inability for African-American youth to fully mature before they must embrace their “crowns.”
The award will be funded by 70% of all proceeds from Crowning Too Early merchandise and on the strength of donations from our community
