By
Hillary Davis
Arizona Daily Wildcat
West African melodies accompany people's thoughts on an improved society
Drums were more than just music-making instruments yesterday when people gathered on the UA Mall to "sound" the drum.
People from a range of ages, races and ethnic backgrounds took the microphone to deliver 20-second thoughts and desires about the world, while about 75 people listened.
After their brief speeches, the speakers, or "sounders," would pound the drumskins firmly twice before introducing the next person.
Tucson's Tariq Rasool and the Songhai Drummers - a group that included middle-aged men in colorful African dress and a 12-year-old "master drummer" in high top sneakers - kept a quiet but steady background beat as 16 people from the University of Arizona and Tucson communities shared their visions for a better society.
David Aguila, a pre-computer science senior, was the first to speak.
"I sound the drum in hopes that all leaders will lead by example," he said before tapping the instrument.
Lynette Cook-Francis, associate dean and director for the Department of Multicultural Programs and Services, borrowed a line from civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
"I sound the drum because injustice everywhere is a threat to justice everywhere," she said.
Justice, and dreams, were recurring themes in the sounders' statements.
Matt Helm, a leadership development coordinator for student programs, wants a certain kind of justice - "true" justice.
"I sound the drum today in pursuit of true justice," he said. "True justice is love and compassion obtained through the expansion of consciousness."
Margaret Kish, an adjunct lecturer in the department of public administration and policy, said justice leads to dreams.
"I believe that if you dedicate your life to justice, you will share in the building of the dreams," she said.
After the sounder walked away from the microphone, he or she was given a hug or handshake from Alex Wright, director of UA's African American Student Affairs program, and presented with a fringed scarf.
The performance on the Mall yesterday was the UA's 12th annual celebration. The sounding of the drum practice was created by Carter G. Woodson, a black 1918 Harvard graduate and has spread across the world.
"Pound, pound, let the drum sound," Rasool sang into the microphone while the crowd clapped in rhythm.
Tucsonan Javier Martinez echoed Kish's sentiments, gearing his ideal toward the people he addressed.
"I sound the drum for you," he said to the audience. "We all have dreams. If you take the initiative to share these dreams with society, these dreams can become reality."
