Drum up support
The kids of Hartford’s Proud Drill, Drum & Dance Corp want to end violence in their neighborhoods. On Saturday, the drill team performed at the East Coast Explosion “Stomp the Violence” event at Dillon Stadium.
The kids of Hartford’s Proud Drill, Drum & Dance Corp want to end violence in their neighborhoods.
The after school program, founded eight years ago by Hartford resident Terry Starks and her husband Duffy, aims to keep Hartford youth safe and out of trouble by giving them something to do during the times they’re not in school.
On Saturday, the drill team performed on its home turf, at the East Coast Explosion “Stomp the Violence” event at Dillon Stadium. Many of the kids on the field had never picked up a drumstick before they auditioned for Hartford’s Proud, but couldn’t be more confident marching alongside their team members in front of a crowd.
“I’ve learned self-discipline, and I’ve learned the art of music,” said Aaron Codrington, a seventh grader at Achievement First Middle School who plays the bass drum. “Here, it taught me not to be disrespectful and stuff.”
Aaron said he’s learned not only how to keep a beat, but how to be more kind to his teachers and friends. His younger sister is on the program’s dance team, but Aaron said that’s not his only family in Hartford’s Proud.
“Most of these people are my family,” Aaron said. “Auntie Terry, I think she’s a wonderful person. She started a program for children and didn’t make something just for her own self. She made something for the children.”
The kids appreciate what Terry and Duffy Starks have done for the thousands of young Hartford residents who’ve passed through the program since 2012. Hartford’s Proud takes on more than 160 performances a year and practices five days a week, often into the evening hours after school.
Snare drum rolls and cymbal claps bounced through the halls of Achievement First Hartford High School during a practice one day this past week. Hartford kids as young as 4 laughed, marched and danced through the building, giving their routines some final preparation ahead of their East Coast Explosion showcase this weekend. In one room, more than 30 young girls danced to a mashup of popular songs mixed with soundbites from local news reports about fatal gun violence.
Terry Starks and her husband know that gun violence isn’t an abstract concept to these kids. This year’s East Coast Explosion is dedicated to two members of the drum corps who died this past year.
“I don’t think it’s really hit (the kids) yet, because it’s like it’s normal, another one is gone,” Terry Starks said.
Usher Hanns drummed with Hartford’s Proud for years and was a beloved member of the team. Hanns died earlier this month at age 17 after being shot on Edgewood Street off of Albany Avenue, not far from Achievement First. Saturday’s concert will honor him, along with Dahaiza Stewart, a 21-year-old member of the drum corps who died in a car crash on Main Street in June.
Terry Starks said she decided to start the drum corps program nearly eight years ago as she was surveying North End residents about their biggest concerns. She said almost everybody agreed that violence was the neighborhood’s biggest challenge, and as she was preparing to head home, police responded to an active shooter in the neighborhood. She remembered a group of young boys she saw playing drums outside of Simpson-Waverly School earlier that day, and drove back to make sure they were safe.
“I jump in my car. I had a pickup truck. I went back to the school, and I got the kids. I put them in my car, and I’m like, ‘Y’all are safe now,’” she remembered. “That became this (program). I brought them to my house, and they never left.”
Two of those boys were Dahzia Stewart’s brothers and stuck with the program for years.
Terry Starks is “Auntie Terry” to the kids of Hartford’s Proud, and she doesn’t take that title lightly. They practice at her house on weekends, and she spends most of her days with the kids.
“I can’t walk through the hallway without them stopping. And in the neighborhood, (parents are) like, ‘There she goes right there. Go show her you can dance!’” Terry Starks said.
She works at Achievement First during the day and hangs out with the kids practicing their dances or drills late into the evening most days. They practice all week and spend many weekends traveling for competitions. The busy schedule is designed to keep the kids occupied with something meaningful, instead of getting into trouble after school.
“I grew up in this community, and I see what’s out there, and it’s scary,” Terry Starks said.
Terry Starks said her mission is to make the kids feel that their hard work isn’t going unnoticed. She recently spent $1,000 on trophies for one of Hartford’s Proud competitions, so that every member of the corps could get one.
“They could be doing anything else, and they chose to dance. So I’m proud of every last one of them,” she said.
Raysean Damon, 11, said Terry Starks found him when he needed her most.
“She came to me when I was not paying attention in class, and she gave me an opportunity to be able to join something so when I get older, I won’t be on the streets like everybody else,” Raysean said.
Duffy Starks leads the drum corps and teaches the kids how to play. He said many of the kids who join Hartford’s Proud have no musical background at all. Some of the kids who performed at Dillon Stadium on Saturday only began playing music last week.
“My goal is to build the momentum up, build up their self-esteem,” Duffy Starks said. “Whatever their dreams are, I target that.”
He said Hartford’s Proud is about giving the kids a different path than straight to the streets. Duffy Starks said he can relate to some of the struggling students as someone who’s been there himself. He wants to reintroduce the concept of being a neighbor back into these young people’s lives.
“We’re not a team. We’re a family,” Duffy Starks said. Slade Rand can be reached at krand@courant.com.