Silkroad Connect, launched in Fall 2021, is a partnership between Silkroad, the Kennedy Center’s Turnaround Arts program, and middle school classrooms in under-resourced communities of color across the country that positions the arts as a social justice and advocacy tool. During this three-year pilot, participants will engage in a culturally responsive, inquiry based exploration of the stories, cultures, and music of the African American, Chinese, Latinx, Irish, and Indigenous populations who built or were adversely impacted by the building of the Transcontinental Railroad. Despite the enormous role these communities played in advancing one of the most important technological and economic achievements of the 19th century, their contributions have been left out of the dominant narrative.

This innovative initiative includes an artist-in-residency program that brings the all-star artists of Silkroad to our partner schools; intensive, year-long professional development for teachers, including tuition-free participation in a summer educator conference organized in conjunction with our partners at the Harvard Graduate School of Education; and a culminating performance at each school. Silkroad Connect offers students the opportunity to learn firsthand from Silkroad musicians, participate in the process of creative development, and examine how music and storytelling can confront erasure, retell historical untruths, and amplify the voices and contributions of marginalized communities. 

Participating schools include: 

• Orchard Gardens Pilot School John C. Fremont Elementary School, Boston, MA

• Fremont School, Stockton, CA 

• North Monterey County Middle School, Castroville, CA

• Parkway Middle School, Broward County, FL

• Standing Rock, ND

Help us underwrite Silkroad Connect:

• $1 Million will underwrite our three-year pilot program in six under-resourced schools in communities of color across the United States

• $250,000 will provide 50 teachers with critical training and professional development, including tuition-free participation in Silkroad’s Arts and Passion Learning Institute, organized in conjunction with Harvard’s School of Education

• $50,000 will underwrite an individual Silkroad Connect school for one year

• $15,000 will make it possible for two Teaching Artists to participate in the residency – a centerpiece!

• $10,000 will aid our efforts to bring Silkroad musicians and educators to the Northern Cheyenne Reservation at Lame Deer, Montana and the Standing Rock Reservation in North Dakota to provide education, hope, and artistic engagement to children struggling with little resources or opportunities

• $5,000 will help provide instruments, performance clothing, and other critical supplies for children and schools in need

Silkroad Connect is made possible through the generous support of:

• Mass Cultural Council

• LaVon Kellner and Tom Roush

• Liberty Mutual Foundation

• Wagner Foundation

• Zeldin Family Foundation