GrassROOTS Community Foundation Hosts Town Hall On Health
By Dan Wing
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Local politicians and community activists teamed up with world-renowned musicians for a panel on health Saturday morning in Germantown. The event hosted by the GrassROOTS Community Foundation served as a kickoff for Saturday night's 5th Annual 'Let's Move It: Philly!' fundraiser, which benefits after school programs at Lingelbach Elementary School.
With a focus on young women, the panel at Lingelbach Elementary listened to girls describe their daily routine, and in addition to offering advice, they also offered their experiences. Artist and Activist, Talib Kweli talked about going from being a straight 'A' student to a near dropout.
"The pressure to be like my peers in junior high school, going to high school," he says, "became greater than the reward of impressing your teachers or impressing your parents."
Kweli says that pressure also extends to what kids eat, especially with junk food being cheaper than the healthy alternative.
"We have to see our lives as valuable," he says. "We have to value ourselves, we have to love ourselves, we have to know ourselves, we have to heal ourselves. We have to see ourselves as too important to eat junk food."
Co-Founder of GrassROOTS, and world-renowned hip-hop artist Tarik "Black Thought" Trotter says discussions and activities like this were key for him growing up in Philadelphia.
"It's very important to get the dialogue going in the community," he says, "with regards to just presenting some sort of outlet to our young people."
Trotter says most times, kids just need someone to look up to.
"We're all capable of making good decisions," he says. "We just need an example often, and we just need that little bit of guidance."
The discussion was ended with a performance by local musicians 'Good Girl' and 'Mprynt.'
