NAMM Members Advocate for Music Education in Washington, D.C.

Last week, the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM), along with 91 music industry leaders and artists made up a delegation of advocates furthering the case that all children deserve quality, comprehensive school music education programs during the NAMM Music Education Advocacy D.C. Fly-In (May 23-26, 2016). The delegation participated in various events to reinforce the importance of music being listed as part of a well-rounded education for all children.

The Advocacy week began on Monday, May 23 with a Day of Service. Members from the group, including New York Yankee-turned Latin GRAMMY-nominated guitarist Bernie Williams, donated musical instruments and accessories and provided three hours of music education taught by master teachers on drum, ukulele and guitar lessons to 75 students at D.C.’s Friendship Technology Preparatory Academy. Located in the D.C. suburb of Anacostia, the school has seen participation numbers steadily rise since the inception of the band program in 2015. That same evening, The NAMM Foundation awarded the SupportMusic Champion Award to Senator Lamar Alexander (TN) (see release here). The award was given in recognition of the Senator’s long history in music education advocacy and comes on the heels of the historic passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), a bill introduced by Senator Alexander and signed into law by President Obama in 2015. The passage of ESSA is the first federal law to provide a framework for access to music and arts education for every student.

On Tuesday, the delegation prepared for its efforts on Capitol Hill by participating in advocacy training at Nelson Mullins, during which the music industry leaders were apprised of current issues facing public school music programs and briefed on ESSA. The delegates were also trained on developing state-level advocacy efforts for music and arts education to put into practice in their respective states.

That evening, a special reception was held for the Turnaround Arts, a program under the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities. During the reception, a variety of artists were honored, including Citizen Cope, Carla Dirlikov, Paula Fuga, Keb’ Mo’, Tim Robbins, Bernie Williams, Alfre Woodard, John Lloyd Young, among others, for their work in arts education advocacy, of which, music education is a core topic. Each artist was recognized with a SupportMusic Award from The NAMM Foundation for his or her support of this effort. An impromptu jam session featured the likes of Hawaiian soul singer, Paula Fuga, Keb’ Mo’, Bernie Williams, Citizen Cope and many NAMM members on a variety of instruments to serve as the house band (see release here).

On Wednesday, the delegation took to Capitol Hill for over 150 meetings with members of Congress and/or staff about the importance of music education and the support needed to insure that each student has the opportunity to learn music in school. Later that evening, a reception was held in the U.S. Capitol.

The week was closed out by two SupportMusic calls, including one featuring the newly appointed Secretary of Education, John B. King. On Thursday, Secretary King joined NAMM executive director of public affairs, Mary Luehrsen for the SupportMusic Coalition webinar. The live call included a discussion about the new federal education law, ESSA and its goals for all children to receive a well-rounded education.

Participating members of the NAMM Delegation included:

To view images from the Fly-In, please view the links below:

MONDAY, MAY 23

NAMM Day of Service for Music Education with Bernie Williams

The NAMM Foundation/Sen. Lamar Alexander with the SupportMusic Champion Award

TUESDAY, MAY 24

NAMM Turnaround Arts Artist Reception

WEDNESDAY, MAY 25

NAMM, CMA and VH1 Music Advocacy Day

White House Turnaround Arts Talent Show

CMA, NAMM, VH1 Congressional Reception for Music Education

Photo credit: Kris Connor/Getty Images for NAMM